Two to five inches of light density snow has fallen in the mountains of the Tetons and more could fall today. This snow will be sensitive in steep terrain at the mid and high elevations to skiers and riders in the form of shallow loose sluffs and as soft wind slabs at the high elevations. Also at the high elevations, older weak layers persist, providing the chance to trigger deeper slabs. Avalanches at low elevations are not expected today. Caution is advised today. Avalanche activity is expected to be widespread but generally small in size. Even small slides can carry serious consequences from terrain features such as trees and in terrain traps.
New snow and west to northwest winds have formed soft surface slabs in steep wind loaded terrain at the high elevations. These slabs will be very sensitive to skiers and riders today and could have depths to ten inches this morning. These slabs could increase in size and sensitivity as snowfall continues today.
Above 9000 feet, where consolidated snow rests upon layers of faceted snow, avalanches can be triggered in steep avalanche terrain. These slabs could release in pockets to two feet in cliff or rocky areas and a slight potential remains to trigger larger hard slabs in steep north facing avalanche paths.
Skies will remain cloudy and the northwest flow will continue to bring periods of light snowfall to the mountains. At the upper elevations a couple of inches of new snow are possible overnight and several inches are likely during the day. Daytime temperatures will rise into the teens and 20s. Winds will be west to northwest at 15 to 20 miles per hour with higher gusts.Pockets of soft surface slab up to 18 inches in depth will be sensitive to human triggers in areas with fresh deposits of wind-blown snow. The snowpack beneath the new snow has a variety of weak layers of faceted snow. At the mid and upper elevations humans, especially those on snowmobiles, could trigger dense slab avalanches one to three feet deep on these weak layers. The general avalanche hazard is expected to be MODERATE at the mid and upper elevations and LOW at the lower elevations.
