In partnership with: Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center, The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center and Utah State Parks.
Good morning. This is Craig Gordon with the Forest
Service Utah Avalanche Center with your avalanche and mountain weather advisory
for the western Uinta Mountains. Today is Sunday, January 18, 2004 and it’s
7:30 a.m.
Backcountry Awareness Week begins on January 19th
and runs through the 25th. There are some great events scheduled for
the upcoming week and you can read all about it at http://www.backcountryawareness.com/
Current conditions:
Under clear skies, current 10,000’ temperatures are
in the low 20’s and winds are generally out of the west at speeds of 10-15 mph
along the ridges. It’s a mixed bag out there today as far as the snow surface
conditions go. Up high the snow is stiff and foam-like. At mid and low
elevations on the southerly facing slopes, supportable crusts turn into creamy corn-like
snow as the day warms up. And sandwiched in between all the teeth chattering
old tracks, good recrystalized snow can still be found on shady, wind sheltered
slopes.
Avalanche Conditions:
The yin-yang effect of warm days followed by cold nights
has pretty much locked the snowpack in place. With a plethora of slope stability
testers out in full force yesterday, there were no reports of any human triggered
avalanches and people are starting to nose into every nook and cranny, punching
out some bold lines without incident. For now, many of the deeper instabilities
within the snowpack that I’ve been concerned about have relaxed and are starting
to gain strength especially in areas where the snowpack is deep. While the
clear weather makes many of us look like we’ve spent the week on a Caribbean
cruise, it’s having a negative impact on the snow surface, as it grows weak
over time, particularly on the shady slopes. This could ultimately set the tone
for an avalanche cycle once winter returns from its hiatus.
Bottom Line:
At all elevations the avalanche danger is generally LOW today. Human triggered
avalanches are unlikely. Remember low danger doesn’t mean no danger, so if you’re
getting into steep, radical terrain today practice you’re safe travel skills. Only
put one person on the slope at a time and carry all the necessary rescue gear such
as beacons, shovels, and probes.
Mountain Weather:
High pressure
will remain in place for one more day giving us clear skies, warm temperatures,
and light winds. Highs today at 10,000’ will be in the low 30’s and at 8,000’
near 40 degrees. Overnight lows will dip into the low 20’s. Winds will remain light
and westerly at speeds of 5-15 mph along the ridges. By late tonight, the high should start to buckle and this will allow
a weak system to slide across the region on Monday and Tuesday bringing with it
a chance of snow and colder temperatures. The ridge rebounds for mid-week and
looking into the crystal ball another system is slated to move in late in the
week.
General Information:
We can always use snow and avalanche information and
your snowpack and avalanche observations could help to save someone’s life. If
you see or trigger an avalanche give us a call at 801-231-2170 or
1-800-662-4140.
Also, if you’d
like to schedule a free avalanche awareness talk and/or field day give us a
call at 801-524-5304.
The
information in this advisory is from the U.S. Forest Service, which is solely
responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche
conditions and local variations always occur.
I will issue a special holiday advisory by 7:30 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 19, 2004.
Thanks for calling.