The southwest winds ramped up ahead of a series of storms that will impact the mountains for the next few days. 11,000' anemometers are currently spinning 25-30 mph gusting into the 40's and 50's. 10,000' winds are blowing 15-20 mph gusting into the 20's and 30's. Temperatures are hovering just above freezing up to 8,800' in elevation.
Today: As the storm moves in from the Pacific the southerly winds are forecasted to increase today and into tonight with speeds of 30-40 mph gusting into the 70's at 11,000'. Clouds are moving in from Nevada as I type this and will arrive shortly after sunrise with a chance for a couple of inches of snow by the end of today. The temperatures will be warm and the rain snow line will be 8,000'-9,000' feet in elevation.
Monday: Strong southerly winds will continue in the morning hours before a small storm rolls through midday allowing for a better shot of snow. Monday evening the winds return ahead of a much better storm on Tuesday.
Tuesday: Snow flurries. By the end of the day on Wednesday we could see 5"-10" of new snow.
No new observations from the Provo area. Yesterday, in the SLC mountains a group of backcountry skiers triggered a large storm snow avalanche in upper Big Willow Cirque. The avalanche was 400' wide and up to 4' feet deep in places. One rider was caught and carried, but was able to self arrest on the bed surface and was not buried. They reported a lost pole and a broken ski (Picture below: Kemp). You can read their observation
HERE. As the strong sun came out yesterday afternoon many observers noted a natural wet loose avalanche cycle on the sunny aspects.