JACKSON HOLE, WYO – The avalanche forecast for today should make all backcountry enthusiasts sip up and take notice.
According to Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center the rating for this morning and this afternoon is HIGH at all elevations. The entire region—from the Tetons, to Togwotee, to the Greys—is under an avalanche warning.
It means very dangerous conditions exist at all elevations. Travel is not recommended in avalanche terrain.
Up to 18 inches of new snow with up to two inches of moisture has fallen in the mountains since early yesterday morning.
Natural avalanche activity is likely and may become widespread. Large avalanches could run long distances. Avalanches could affect roadways. Avalanches are possible on buttes, steep banks, road cuts and steep hillsides that don’t normally slide. Stay off of and out from under steep slopes. Dangerous roof slides are likely.
This new snow is heavy and still coming. Even if it could ‘grip’ the layer it is sitting on, it is too weighty to stay up on some steep-angled aspects. Especially watch today’s warmup. Looking for high temperatures around 37 degrees which could bring a rain/snow mix and increase problems all that more.
At the mid and upper elevations strong southwest winds have formed dense, unstable wind slabs on lighter density snow. At the lower elevations these slabs are forming on top of a snowpack that has poor structure. Natural and human triggered releases are very likely. These destructive slabs could be up to three feet deep at the upper elevations and up to two feet deep at the lower elevations.
Large to very large slab avalanches could fail on persistent weak layers on a variety of aspects at all elevations. At the lower elevations these slides are very likely, could be wet and may dig down to the ground with total slab depths to four feet. At the higher elevations these destructive slabs could be up to six feet deep and run long distances.
Jackson Hole Weather Report
