Togwotee Pass

The General Avalanche Hazard is MODERATE. 10 inches of new snow and strong Southwesterly winds ending Tuesday morning created sensitive soft slabs 12 to 18 inches in depth on steep lee slopes on the higher peaks. The new snow rests on well developed sun and melt-freeze crusts formed from high temperatures in March. Backcountry travelers could trigger these slabs on steep, wind-loaded starting zones. Any sunny periods will allow the strong April sun to warm the snow and natural and human triggered slides will be possible on all aspects.

( Discussion is generated from the previous day's afternoon forecast. ) A weak ridge over the region will allow disturbances to bring a chance of light snow tonight into Wednesday. Skies will be mostly cloudy with morning lows near twenty and daytime highs in the upper thirties. Ridge crest winds will be Westerly at 20 to 25 miles per hour.The General Avalanche hazard in the Tetons and Greys River areas will remain CONSIDERABLE at Upper elevations. Daytime highs Tuesday were not warm enough to affect the sliding surfaces under 12 to 18 inches of snow and slabs will continue to be very sensitive to release on lee slopes. As the day warms slabs will be easier to trigger and loose and wet-loose slides will be likely on sunlit aspects as the first above freezing temperatures since the new snow fell are reached. The smooth crusts underlying the new snow will allow slides to rapidly build to dangerous size. In the Togwotee Pass area the hazard will be MODERATE as less new snow accumulated. Similar conditions exist but on a smaller, though not necessarily less dangerous, scale.