Tetons

Several layers of weak snow lie hidden within the snowpack. These persistent layers were buried as long ago as December 11th and as recently as January 12th. Slab avalanches involving these weaknesses could be human triggered today in steep avalanche terrain above 7500 feet where they could be small to very large in size. Below that elevation, activity is limited to very steep isolated terrain features. For safe backcountry travel, be thoughtful about terrain selection and take the time to evaluate the snowpack in order to determine the presence and characteristics of weak layers.

As the main flow of the jet stream passes to the north in Canada, weak weather disturbances will cross the current ridge of high pressure over the region and bring light snowfall to western Wyoming by morning. Accumulation is expected to be 2 to 5 inches by Friday morning and ridgetop winds will be southwesterly to westerly at 10 to 20 miles per hour. The avalanche hazard is expected to be Moderate in the Teton and Togwotee Pass forecast areas. In the Tetons, where the snowpack has reached depths of six feet, weak layers have begun to round and will be difficult to trigger. If one of these avalanches were triggered, slab depths could be up to 5 feet and likely fatal. In the Togwotee Pass area, where the snowpack is still shallow, avalanches will be more easily triggered but smaller with depths up to four feet. Even small avalanches could have severe consequences.In the Southwest Trails/Grey’s River forecast area, the avalanche hazard is expected to be Considerable, where skiers and riders could trigger dangerous avalanches in avalanche-prone terrain with slab depths as large as four to five feet.