Tetons

Yesterday explosives triggered a seven foot deep slab avalanche on a southeast aspect of Peaked Mountain outside of the boundary of the Grand Targhee Resort. Avalanche hazard reduction efforts at the Jackson Hole Resort explosively triggered a four foot deep hard slab in the Expert Chutes. Soft slab avlanches up to three feet deep that had released naturally on Thursday were observed on north, northeast, east and south-southeast aspects in the Southern Teton Range. At the mid and upper elevations surface slabs up to three feet deep and hard slabs up to six feet deep could be human triggered today. At the lower elevations avalanches are unlikely.

The next weather system is fast approaching from the Northwest, and is expected to move into the area this evening and continue into the morning hours on Sunday. The mountains could receive 3 to 5 inches of light density snow by midday on Sunday while the valley sees 1 to 3. Westerly winds at 15 to 25 miles per hour are forecasted to veer to the northwest during the night. Overnight lows at all elevations should be in the single digits before rising into the low teens in the mountains and near 20 in the valley.The general avalanche hazard is expected to remain CONSIDERABLE on Sunday where two avalanche problems confront backcountry travelers. First, recently developed wind slabs, 1 to 3 feet in depth, could be triggered on steep, wind-loaded slopes. Second, deeper hard slabs, 3 to 6 feet deep persist. More substantial triggers such as snowmobiles, large groups, or surface slides steeping down may be needed to initiate these hard slabs. Severe consequences could result if caught in one of these hard slab avalanches.