Sign Up for the Utah Snow and Avalanche Workshop (USAW) on December 7th!

Forecast for the Salt Lake Area Mountains

Trent Meisenheimer
Issued by Trent Meisenheimer on
Friday morning, October 13, 2023
Welcome to the start of the 2023-2024 winter season.
For now, thanks for checking the forecast, and stay tuned. We’ll issue updates as conditions warrant, with regular forecasts and danger ratings often starting in early December.
PLEASE REMEMBER - Any time snow on the ground, it’s exciting, and it’s avalanche season. Enough snow to ski or ride means there’s enough snow to slide. Of note was a “day of madness” on November 13, 2011. Read more here and listen to the podcast so we don’t repeat our history.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
Learn how to read the forecast here
Special Announcements
Sign up for the 16th Annual Utah Snow and Avalanche Workshop (USAW) IN PERSON, November 4th at the Dejoria Center in Kamas, UT. Sign up and get more info HERE.
The Professional Snow and Avalanche Workshop (PROSAW) will be November 6th at the Dejoria Center in Kamas, UT. Sign up and get more info HERE.
Weather and Snow
Tuesday, October 10, was warm before the storm. Southerly winds began to build late afternoon as a cold front was on its way to northern Utah. The following morning, October 11, temperatures dropped, and rain started to fall in the valleys, with mountain snow above about 8,500’ in elevation. This cold winter storm produced a blanket of fresh snow across northern Utah and ushered in the first cold air of the season.
I looked across the state at the different snow amounts for Northern Utah. However, some of these are my best guess as I have no visual or on-the-ground information. Past 48-hour snow totals are as follows:
  • Upper Cottonwoods: 6-12 inches of snow (2.03 water)
  • Provo: 2-4 inches of snow (0.30 water)
  • Ogden: 2-4 inches of snow (0.46 water)
  • Logan: 3-6 inches of snow (0.70 water)
  • Uintas: 3-6 inches of snow (0.60 water)
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Additional Information
It’s never too early to start thinking about avalanches. Here are a few things to consider doing:
  1. Attend USAW and learn more about avalanches and decision-making.
  2. Sign up for an avalanche class.
  3. Take a free online avalanche course the UAC built for Know Before You Go or other courses listed on the KBYG website (Develop skills -> Online Learning).
  4. Get your avalanche rescue gear ready for winter. Put fresh batteries in your transceiver and update the firmware. Inspect your shovel and probe. Get your airbag backpack ready by possibly doing a test deployment and updating the firmware if it is an electric version.