Forecast for the Provo Area Mountains

Drew Hardesty
Issued by Drew Hardesty for
Tuesday, March 5, 2024
A MODERATE avalanche danger exists on many steep wind drifted slopes across the compass. You can still trigger pockets of soft and hard slabs of wind drifted snow even along the low elevation bands in exposed terrain. Avalanches may step into older, weaker layers leading to larger, more destructive avalanches. (Small avalanches in specific areas and large avalanches in isolated areas are possible. See additional info below.)
Cornices, too, are becoming unruly and may break back well beyond the ridgelines.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
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Weather and Snow
Skies are mostly cloudy.
Winds are from the west, blowing 15-20mph. The highest ridgelines have hourly wind speeds of 25-30mph with gusts to 40. Temperatures are in the teens.

One more day of wind, people.
A weak warm front will keep skies mostly cloudy to overcast with possibly an additional trace to 2" today. Temperatures will continue to rise to the low to mid-20s. Winds will blow from the west southwest 15-20mph. Another weak system may provide the Logan area mountains a few more inches tomorrow with a splitting system on Thursday providing the mountains of northern Utah another 3-6". Perhaps a touch more. Skies start to clear Friday into Saturday with more unsettled weather on tap for next week.
Recent Avalanches
None reported.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Winds at all elevations have been moderate to strong for days now...and those winds have had plenty of snow available for transport. As a result, these strong swirling and eddying winds have deposited soft slabs around the compass...and avalanches have been triggered around the compass. Some of these avalanches have run on structural weaknesses adjacent to the dust layer from March 1st. Target this layer with your snow tests today.
While these soft and occasional hard slabs will be increasingly spotty and stubborn today, I would continue to treat any wind drifted terrain with caution: Let the winds subside, allow for settlement and bonding to occur, and for the snow to stabilize. We will be trending toward Low danger soon.

Cornices are becoming unruly and may break back further than you might expect. Give them a wide berth.
Additional Information
The Provo area mountains have widely variable snow and avalanche conditions. The American Fork area and the Wasatch Back had some of the weakest and thinnest snow of northern Utah up until a couple weeks ago and seem very different than other areas. Along the upper reaches of the Cascade ridgeline and Timpanogos, natural avalanches have run and repeated over and over on weak faceted snow from early season and/or early December (see photo example - below from two weeks ago). This localized structure has been subjected to significant wind loading and over 1" of snow water equivalent over the last couple of days and avalanches may step into this older and deeper layering. Extra caution is recommended in steep alpine terrain.
General Announcements
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.