Forecast: Provo Area Mountains - Utah Avalanche Center

Forecast for the Provo Area Mountains

Issued by Trent Meisenheimer on
Sunday morning, February 9, 2025

The avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE on mid and upper-elevation steep slopes facing west to north to east for slab avalanches. Here, avalanches can fail within the new snow or at the old/new snow interface. On northerly facing terrain, these avalanches could step down into buried weak layers of faceted snow, making them more dangerous. Human-triggered avalanches 1 to 3 feet deep are likely today.

With bluebird skies and plenty of powder snow, I can't help but think we will see another accident today. DO NOT let powder fever cloud your judgment.

Low

Moderate

Considerable

High

Extreme

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Special Announcements

We are deeply saddened to report an avalanche fatality in East Bowl of Silverfork that happened yesterday (pic below). Details are still limited, but UAC staff will visit the site today. We will provide a full accident report in the coming days.

Weather and Snow

Yesterday afternoon, another cold front pushed through, leaving behind an additional trace to 2 inches of new snow (0.06" water). This brings the 36-hour snow total to 4 to 10 inches (0.22-0.89" water).

Under clear skies, the mountain temperatures range from 5-10 °F. The wind is from the northwest and blows at speeds of 5-15 mph with gusts into the 20s. Today, we will remain under a cool/dry northwest flow with plenty of sunshine and temperatures rising into the mid 20°F.

Recent Avalanches

Yesterday, one avalanche was reported from Ant Knolls (photo below). This avalanche was 3 feet deep, 250 feet wide, and large enough to bury a human. We are happy to report that no one was caught in it. Lots of avalanche activity to our north in the Wasatch Range.

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Description

With 4 to 10 inches of new snow, it's hard to know precisely how touchy the new snow will be this morning. Today we could see avalanches fail within the new snow or at the new/old snow interface. We could also see avalanches step down into our January buried facets making these deeper and more dangerous (see pwl).

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There are two buried persistent weak layers (PWL) in the snowpack:

1. The upper layer buried down 12-24 inches formed during cold, clear weather in late January and has been buried by recent storms and wind-drifted snow. Today, this layer could become active with the additional water weight we have added in the past 24 hours. Avalanches 1 to 3 feet deep are possible.

2. The lower layer, near the ground, formed in December and has caused large avalanches, including two fatalities during the Holiday Avalanche Cycle.. This layer is most problematic in steep rocky terrain or on repeater slopes that previously avalanched this winter (see recent avalanche activity photo).

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I am unsure if there will be wet avalanche activity today. Cool temperatures and light winds might be enough to keep the wet activity at bay. However, if the snow becomes damp or you see roller balls, it's time to get off and out from under steep, sunny slopes.

General Announcements

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This information does not apply to developed ski areas or highways where avalanche control is normally done. 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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