Togwotee Pass

Temperatures are starting out 5 to 10 degrees warmer than yesterday morning. Skies were clear overnight, which enhanced radiational cooling, and wet snow surfaces were able to freeze. Abundant sunshine and very warm temperatures will bring back the chance for wet loose sluffs and wet slabs as the day progresses. The likelihood of cornice failures will also increase with daytime warming. Skiers and riders might still be able to trigger a shallow pocket of dry slab in mostly shaded, high elevation terrain where the winter snowpack is in the early stages of transitioning to a spring snowpack. Get an early start, monitor the sun’s effect on the snowpack and seek out cooler terrain once frozen surfaces breakdown.

( Discussion is generated from the previous day's afternoon forecast. )Expect partly cloudy to mostly clear skies overnight and into Sunday before cloud cover begins to increase later in the day. Overnight lows in the mountains will be in the mid to upper 20s before climbing to near 40 in the afternoon. Valley lows are expected to dip below freezing by the early morning hours before rebounding into the mid 50s in the heat of the day. Southwesterly ridgetop winds will range from 10 to 20 miles per hour.With below freezing temperatures overnight and periods of mostly clear skies enabling radiational cooling, snow surfaces should freeze solidly. This scenario will result in mostly stable conditions and LOW avalanche danger in the morning. As the day progresses, abundant sunshine, light winds and warm temperatures will bring back the chance for shallow wet slides, and the hazard will increase to MODERATE. The likelihood of cornice failures will also increase with daytime warming. Monitor the sun’s effect on the snowpack, and transition to cooler slopes once surface crusts begin to break down.