Togwotee Pass

Strong winds yesterday and overnight blew new, light density snow onto lee slopes creating easily triggered, soft surface slabs to a foot in depth.Triggered avalanches have the potential to include slabs from the storm ending Saturday another 18 inches in depth on steep avalanche-prone slopes. Some potential exists for these slabs to step down and involve the entire snowpack in areas with a persistent weak layer of faceted snow at the base of the snowpack. Avalanches are unlikely below an elevation of 8,500 feet.

( Discussion is generated from the previous day's afternoon forecast. )Snowfall is expected to continue into mid day Tuesday. Accumulations by Tuesday afternoon are expected to be 8 to 10 inches in the Tetons, 5 - 7 inches in the Southwest Trails/Greys River area and 4 to 5 inches in the Togwotee Pass area. Mountain temperatures will be in the single digits in the morning then warm to near 20 in the afternoon. Winds will be westerly at 20 miles per hour on ridge crests.The easily drifted, light density snow is developing into soft surface slabs to two feet in depth on lee slopes. Avalanches have the potential to start with or pull out deeper slabs to three feet in depth that could include the snow from Saturday's storm. With strong winds also blowing below the ridgetops, cross loading of slopes on a variety of aspects is likely. The general avalanche hazard is expected to be Considerable in the Tetons. Weaknesses at the base of the snowpack on the October crust on northerly aspects at upper elevations continue. Triggering deep, hard slabs on those layers would likely require large triggers such as rapid loading of dense snow, warming temperatures or several people at a time on a slope. In the Southwest Trails/Greys River and Togwotee Pass/Continental Divide areas the hazard is expected to be Moderate. In those areas weaknesses at the base of the snowpack hold the possibility for humans to trigger deeper, hard slabs on northerly aspects at upper elevations.