Avalanche conditions remain VERY DANGEROUS. At the mid and upper elevations, unstable slabs lie upon faceted snow and hard crusts. These persistent slabs could be triggered by the weight of a single person and will increase in both size and sensitivity today as they are further loaded by new snow and very strong winds. These slabs can be small, involving wind loaded features or very large, involving entire bowls. Analysis of both terrain and the snowpack is essential today and making conservative decisions could save your life. The persistent slab problem also extends into the upper portion of low elevations where smaller slabs lie upon surface hoar on northerly terrain. As snowfall accumulates this afternoon, sensitive but shallow wind slabs will develop at the high elevations.
Slab avalanches that could be small to very large, are likely to be human triggered on a variety of aspects above an elevation of 7,000 feet. Generally, these slabs have depths of two to three feet, however in some high elevation terrain they could have crown depths to as much as five feet.
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for Northwestern Wyoming through 5 PM on Saturday. Light, scattered snow showers will continue this evening before the chance for more significant snowfall develops in the early morning hours and continues through most of the day on Saturday. Overnight lows in the mountains will be in the mid-teens before rising into the mid-20s in the afternoon. Southwesterly ridgetop winds will veer to the west at 25 to 35 miles per hour.Very Dangerous avalanche conditions exist. The general avalanche hazard is expected to be CONSIDERABLE Saturday morning. If forecasted snowfall arrives, the hazard will rise during the day as additional snow increases the load on faceted weak layers that formed during the mostly dry period from the first half of December. These slabs are just waiting for a trigger, and skiers and riders venturing into steep avalanche terrain are likely to trigger large to very large, high consequence slides. Conservative terrain choices and expert snowpack analysis will be essential for safe travel in avalanche terrain on Saturday.
