Forecast: Salt Lake Area Mountains - Utah Avalanche Center

Forecast for the Salt Lake Area Mountains

Issued by Nikki Champion on
Wednesday morning, January 22, 2025

The avalanche danger is MODERATE on all mid and upper-elevation slopes. After 24 hours of strong winds and soft snow available for transport, fresh wind drifts may be found on all aspects, including elevations, drainages, and sub-features that are typically wind-protected.

There is a possibility of triggering an avalanche that fails into the buried facets on mid and upper-elevation west-north-east-facing aspects, particularly on slopes with a thinner snowpack.

Rounded pillows of snow that crack or collapse upon approach are clear signs that the wind-drifts are sensitive and should be approached with caution.

Low

Moderate

Considerable

High

Extreme

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Special Announcements

Join the UAC at Deer Valley on January 30th for the 2nd Annual Blizzard Ball Gala. Former Director of the Utah Avalanche Center, Bruce Tremper will deliver the keynote address.

Weather and Snow

Under clear skies, temperatures have climbed above zero for the first time in a while, with most trailheads between 10–15°F. Upper-elevation weather stations are still in the single digits. Winds are coming from the west, averaging in the teens with gusts into the 30s and 40s at 9,000' ridgelines. At 11,000', winds are from the west-northwest, sustained at 50–60 mph with gusts up to 80 mph, and overnight gusts exceeded 100 mph. No new snow fell overnight.

Today, expect mostly clear skies and temperatures rising into the mid-20s °F. Winds at 9,000' will be from the west-northwest at around 15 mph, gusting up to 25 mph. At 11,000', winds will continue from the northwest, sustained at 30–50 mph with gusts up to 55 mph, tapering throughout the day.

Despite the cold temperatures, some south- and west-facing aspects may develop a thin melt-freeze crust just below the surface. While this is unlikely to impact sliding conditions in most areas, it’s worth noting before the next storm arrives.

Recent Avalanches

Yesterday, January 21, 2025, a skier unintentionally triggered a 2-foot-deep, 100-foot-wide avalanche on a northeast-facing slope at 9,900' on West Monitor. The avalanche failed as a soft slab of wind-drifted snow just below the ridgeline; no injuries occurred. See the thoughtful write-up for more details HERE.

We had a number of great observations from the backcountry and you can read all observations HERE.

Type

Location

Likelihood

Size

Description

Overnight, northwesterly winds gusted over 100 mph. With such strong winds, sensitive slabs of wind-drifted snow are likely on upper-elevation slopes and mid-elevation terrain features where snow has accumulated. While these slabs are most prominent on leeward slopes, high winds can load any aspect due to cross-loading caused by swirling and shifting wind directions.

Wind drifts will appear pillowy, rounded, and will often be found on the windward sides of ridgelines, gullies, and terrain features.
Cornices on ridgelines indicate wind-loaded slopes below, which will be particularly sensitive today.
Cracking and collapsing in the snow are clear warning signs of unstable wind-drifted snow.

Type

Location

Likelihood

Size

Description

The buried facets near the ground have been present since early December, with most avalanche activity on this layer starting around Christmas. As time passes and more snow accumulates, this early-season persistent weak layer (PWL) is moving toward dormancy. The last known avalanche on this layer was skier-triggered in Upper Big Cottonwood on Thursday, January 16.

The cracking, collapsing, and whumpfing have subsided, and the lack of in-your-face weakness makes for a tricky problem.

Most likely areas to trigger an avalanche 2'-4' deep and up to 100' wide:

Thin, rocky zones, gullies, and slopes that have previously avalanched and reloaded with storm or wind-drifted snow.
Any area with these characteristics that receives additional wind loading is especially suspect.

Although the likelihood of triggering an avalanche is decreasing, this is still a low-probability, high-consequence problem. Persistent weak layers remain for a long period of time, and while the danger may drop, new snow or wind could bring this layer back to life.

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.

Observations and Avalanches

Backcountry Emergency Procedures