December 24, 2015
December 24, 2015 Rockin' M Ranch SnowReport, Alpine
Another 5" here at the cabins since my last report (yesterday). The forecast is for clearing skies on Christmas day and staying that way for the near future. The timing couldn't be any better to come enjoy. This is one of the best dumps that I have seen prior to the holidays in many years. This should be a great start to a good season. Be careful, the avalanche danger is HIGH! Here is a copy of the Bridger Teton bulletin below. Merry Christmas!!
WESTERN WYOMING AVALANCHE ADVISORY
Issued on Wed December 23, 2015 5:17 PM
SITUATION
Snowfall and wind increased in intensity this afternoon. South-southwest winds with ten to twenty mile per hour averages veered to the west-northwest and increased to near thirty miles an hour. During the day today three to six more inches of snow fell in in the Teton and Southwest trails areas with lesser amounts in the Togwotee Pass area. This snow fell on top of snow that came last night and relatively consistenly and significantly for the last 14 days.
Wind and new snow have formed surface slabs that could slide on density breaks in the recent snowfall. Also deep in the snowpack, weak snow layers persist. These weak layers are now buried under several feet of snow at higher elevations and failure remains a concern and large hard slab avalanches are possible. Today a snowboarder triggered a slide with an 18 inch crown on a steep road cut near the top of Teton Pass. Debris covered half of the road. Slides in the backcountry continue to trickle in and are posted on the website.
FORECAST FOR Thursday, December 24, 2015
Although snowfall is to continue through Thursday, the intensity should decrease tonight as temperatures lower and winds decrease. Temperatures in the single digits are expected in the early morning and highs should reach the teens in the mountains. Winds are to be southwesterly with twenty to thirty mile per hour averages in the morning, decreasing in the afternoon.
If significant snowfall occurs overnight, the avalanche hazard will be High in all the forecast areas. Avalanches could occur as surface wind slabs or they could involve deep persistent weak snow. These older weaknesses could result in large hard slab avalanches with depths to two feet in the Togwotee Pass and the Southwest Trails areas, and depths to five feet in the Tetons.
TREND FOR Friday, December 25, 2015 AND Saturday, December 26, 2015
Colder air is to move in Friday and Saturday. The chance for lingering snow showers is to exist on Christmas with mostly clear skies expected for the weekend. The general avalanche danger associated with the wind slabs will decrease over this period, however the deeper weakness in the snowpack is expected to continue.