Forecast: Salt Lake Area Mountains - Utah Avalanche Center

Forecast for the Salt Lake Area Mountains

Issued by Nikki Champion on
Saturday morning, January 31, 2026

The overall avalanche danger remains LOW, and normal caution is advised.

Today, you may be able to trigger both wet and dry loose snow sluffs on southerly and northerly aspects, respectively. Any dry loose sluff could gouge into older faceted snow, entraining more snow than expected and leaving larger debris piles.

Pay attention to the bump in winds. At the highest elevations, you may also encounter shallow slabs of wind-drifted snow in lee terrain.

Low

Moderate

Considerable

High

Extreme

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Special Announcements

New essay by UAC Director Paige Pagnucco - Weak Snow: Today’s Surface, Tomorrow’s Avalanche Problem

Weather and Snow

This morning, skies are clear and mountain temperatures sit in the upper 20s to low 30s °F. West to northwest winds are blowing 10–20 mph with gusts into the 30s, while at 11,000 feet winds are stronger, 30–40 mph with gusts up to 50–60 mph.

Today will be mostly sunny, with moderate northwest winds remaining elevated along the highest ridgelines, where gusts may reach 50 mph. Temperatures will warm into the mid-30s °F at upper elevations and the mid-40s °F down low. As Drew mentioned yesterday, the longer-term weather outlook remains fairly grim, with not one but two blocking patterns setting up to deflect any potential storms. Not all hope is lost, however. There are hints of a pattern shift in the second week of February, possibly closer to Valentine’s Day. For now, we will just keep updating the models and hoping for a change.

Riding and travel conditions are much improved thanks to Wednesday night’s couple of inches of snow. It’s a good time to get out and explore.

❄️

The Week in Review is hot off the press!

Recent Avalanches

The faceted surface snow continues to produce loose dry avalanches in steep terrain. Of note, whereas these dry loose “facet” sluffs used to be just big enough to knock you off your feet, they are now nearly large enough to bury you.

Yesterday, Bo was easily able to get the faceted snow surface to move around in Upper Day's fork.

Type

Location

Likelihood

Size

Description

While the danger is generally LOW, there are a few minor avalanche issues to consider, particularly in the higher-elevation bands today.

At the highest elevations, particularly on northeast through southeast facing slopes, you may encounter sensitive pockets of wind-drifted snow. These slabs are shallow and should show obvious signs of instability, such as shooting cracks or minor collapsing. With the elevated winds, these wind drifts will continue to grow in size. Ski cuts may be an effective mitigation tool.
Loose dry sluffs may gouge deeply into the old, weak surface snow, leaving deeper debris piles, especially in gullies or other confined terrain. These “facet” sluffs are slow but dense and may knock you over and drag you downslope.
Yesterday’s cloud cover kept the new snow dry, but with clear skies today, Wednesday night’s few inches of snow will likely begin to dampen with sun and rising temperatures. Shallow but longer running wet loose sluffs are possible on slick crusts on solar aspects.

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.

Observations and Avalanches

Backcountry Emergency Procedures