At the upper elevations six inches of dense new snow lies upon crusts. Small avalanches involving this new snow could be triggered by humans or release naturally in response to sunshine on very steep slopes. At the lower elevations warm temperatures and rain showers have created wet snow avalanche hazards on steep terrain features. Roof slides are still happening. Grand Teton National Park has extended its bighorn sheep winter habitat closure on Mount Hunt and in the Prospector Mountain/Static Peak area from April 1 until April 30. Please respect these closures.
At the upper elevations small slab avalanche up to a foot in depth and loose snow avalanches involving the recent new snow could be triggered by humans in very steep terrain features, like steep chutes, couloirs and cliff areas. Small slides can cuse injuries in extreme terrain. Warming temperatures and periods of sunshine may increase the sensitivity of these slides to human triggers.
At the lower elevations wet slides are possible on steep terrain features where the snow becomes wet and unconsolidated. These wet slides could gouge down to the ground and could occur of a variety of aspects. At the upper elevations periods of sunshine and/or warm temperatures may cause shallow wet slides involving the recent new snow to release naturally from very steep, sunlit slopes and cliff areas.
In the mountains, a few light, scattered snow showers will be possible overnight and on Friday as Westerly flow aloft brings limited Pacific moisture and cloud cover to the region. Overnight lows in the mountains will be in the mid-twenties before rising to near freezing in the afternoon. Valley temperatures will drop to near freezing tonight before climbing back into the upper 40s during the day. Southwesterly ridgetop winds will range from 10 to 20 miles per hour.In the mountains, below freezing temperatures overnight will result in mostly stable conditions on Friday morning. As the day warms, the hazard could increase to Moderate if breaks in cloud cover occur. Shallow wet slides involving the recent snowfall will be possible on aspects that receive sunshine. The chance for skiers and riders to trigger small pockets of soft slab in high elevation, northerly starting zones will also increase with daytime warming. With valley lows only dropping to around freezing, along with the presence of cloud cover, the general avalanche hazard is expected to remain Moderate down low. There, wet slides that could gouge down to the ground will continue to be possible overnight and through the day on Friday. Get an early start, monitor the breakdown of melt- freeze crusts, and transition to shaded terrain if conditions warrant.
