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 Wednesday,
December 1, 2004 and it’s 7:30 a.m.
Announcements:
We have installed a weather
station in the Moffit Peak area. Click here to
see temperatures and wind data.
Many thanks go out to the
Utah Snowmobile Association for their generous contributions.
Current conditions:
It’s frosty out there this morning. Temperatures at
8,000’ are just climbing out of the single digits and at 11,000’ it’s near
zero. Northwesterly winds are blowing at speeds of 10-15 mph along the highest
ridges. The riding and turning conditions are stiff and variable up high, but on
sheltered shady slopes the snow remains cold and light. While the coverage is
vastly improving with each storm, remember there are still plenty of natural
obstacles barely hidden and the snowpack is relatively thin.
Avalanche Conditions:
The weekend storm produced a widespread, natural
avalanche cycle throughout the range. While many slopes have avalanched
naturally, there are plenty of slopes that haven’t and are waiting for a
trigger to arrive and tip the balance. So today’s avalanche conditions will be
twofold; slopes that did avalanche
already and those that have not
avalanched yet.
First off, slopes
that did slide throughout the storm cycle are now filled back in by the strong
and variable winds that blew over the weekend. The slopes that avalanched
during the storm are hard to detect but look for debris or maybe you can pick
out an old crown. The biggest concern with these slopes is the new wind drifts that
were created in the past few days. These slabs will have a hollow, drum-like sound
to them and they’ve formed on virtually every aspect.
The next concern
is the slopes that haven’t avalanched yet. Keep in mind the weekend snow fell
on weak surface facets and surface hoar. These types of instabilities are notoriously
tricky. Often times you can get well out onto the slope before it fails. An avalanche
today may step down into deeper buried weak layers, producing a dangerous and
scary avalanche. If you’re getting into steep terrain, you’ll need to take a
few minutes and carefully assess each slope. The best way to avoid avalanches today
is to keep your slope angles toned down.
Bottom Line:
The avalanche danger is MODERATE today on all slopes that have recently slid and are
steeper than about 35 degrees with recent deposits of wind drifted snow. Human triggered
avalanches are possible.
On steep slopes that haven’t slid yet the avalanche
danger is “SCARY” MODERATE. Human
triggered avalanches are possible and once triggered avalanches will be wide,
deep, and dangerous.
Mountain Weather:
Clouds will be
around for most of the day and we may see a flurry or two as a weak trough
moves through northern Utah. Winds will be out of the northwest at speeds of 5-15
mph along the ridges. High temperatures at 10,000’ will be in the low teens and
at 8,000’ near 20 degrees. Overnight lows will be in the single digits. A ridge
will return on Thursday and we should see clear skies and slowly warming
temperatures. Clear skies will prevail through the weekend. The next shot of
snow looks like it will arrive late in the weekend, but right now has all the
signs of splitting.
General Information:
We’re interested in what
you’re seeing especially if you observe or trigger an avalanche. Call 1-800-662-4140,
or 801-231-2170, or email to [email protected]
or fax to 801-524-6301 and fill us in with all the details.
If you’d like to schedule a
free snowmobile specific avalanche talk and or a field day, please call
801-231-2170.
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 update this advisory by 7:30 a.m. on Saturday
Dec.4, 2004.
Thanks for
calling!