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Forecast for the Moab Area Mountains

Dave Garcia
Issued by Dave Garcia on
Friday morning, November 22, 2024
Welcome to the 2024/25 season! We will update this forecast on Mondays and Fridays until more snow arrives.
Snow cover remains quite thin and there isn't much of an avalanche hazard out there right now. As always, if you are getting into the high country, suspect smooth, rounded pillows of wind drifted snow that may sound or feel hollow underneath. Any ride in an avalanche, even a small one, would be extremely rough right now.
Rocks, trees, and stumps pose serious hazards and recreating off of snow covered roads is not recommended.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
Learn how to read the forecast here
Special Announcements
We have several events coming up to kick off the winter season:
Thursday, December 5 - FREE Know Before You Go avalanche awareness talk 6 PM at the Grand County Public Library
Saturday, December 7 - 17th Annual Utah Snow and Avalanche Workshop (USAW) - Information and tickets available here.
Saturday, December 14 - 3rd Annual UAC Moab/LUNA Winter Kickoff Party, 6 PM at the MARC. Information and tickets available here.
Weather and Snow
Conditions have not changed too much since our last update. We have been sitting under high pressure for a while. Our shallow, early-season snowpack has been subjected to a strong temperature gradient. The entire snowpack continues to weaken and become faceted. It is still not game on for skiing and riding. The overall depth is far too shallow for turning, and most slopes are very rocky.
We have a welcome change in the weather arriving this weekend. A strong atmospheric river is poised to drop impressive snow totals over Northern California and Southern Oregon. SW winds will increase this weekend. The La Sal range will see spotty snow showers on Sunday with only a trace to two inches of accumulation. Our best chance for snow will be Tuesday and Wednesday.
This video is from my fieldwork on Thursday 11-21:
Snowpack and Weather Data
Gold Basin SNOTEL site (10,000')
SNOTEL site near Geyser Pass Winter Trailhead (9600')
Wind Station on Pre-Laurel Peak (11,400')
NWS forecast for the La Sal Mountains.
Snow Profile from 11-21-24
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Additional Information
It’s never too early to start thinking about avalanches. Here are a few things to consider doing:
  • We have over 5 hours of free online learning at the Know Before You Go Website
  • Sign up for an on-snow class or in in person Know Before you Go Event.
  • Get your avalanche rescue gear ready for winter. Put fresh batteries in your transceiver and update the firmware. Inspect your shovel and probe. Get your airbag backpack ready by possibly doing a test deployment and updating the firmware if it is an electric version or getting your canister refilled if it's not electronic
General Announcements
This forecast is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This forecast describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.
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