Forecast: Salt Lake Area Mountains - Utah Avalanche Center

Forecast for the Salt Lake Area Mountains

Issued by Trent Meisenheimer on
Sunday morning, March 2, 2025

The avalanche danger is MODERATE on all aspects and elevations. On mid and upper-elevation slopes facing northwest through east - including some upper-elevation slopes facing west and southeast - it remains possible to trigger an avalanche 2-4 feet deep failing on a persistent weak layer.

With daytime heating, we could see wet snow on aspects facing east, south, and west - including low-elevation northerly slopes. Watch for glide avalanches in Broads Fork, Mill B South, and Stairs Gulch of Big Cottonwood Canyon.

Low

Moderate

Considerable

High

Extreme

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Weather and Snow

The mountain temperatures finally cooled overnight and range from 24-37 °F. The wind is calm and blowing from the west-southwest at speeds of 5-10 mph. Today we will see high pressure begin to move off to our east as a storm moves in overnight. The wind is forecast to pick up from the south and blow 10-20 mph with gusts into the upper 20s and 30s across the upper elevation terrain. This morning it will be sunny with temperatures climbing into the upper 40s to low 50s °F. We will see increasing clouds throughout the day, with maybe some snow falling around the dinner hour. We could see 1-2 feet of new snow by Tuesday.

Recent Avalanches

No new avalanches were reported from the backcountry.

Observations and Avalanches

Type

Location

Likelihood

Size

Description

Today will be a transition day. Sunny skies in the morning with warming temperatures might be enough to warm the snow. However, wind and increasing clouds could keep wet activity to a minimum. Remember, if you're seeing roller balls or the snow becomes unsupportable, it's time to head to cooler aspects or seek lower-angled terrain. Wet-snow avalanches can run very far, especially in confined gully features. Check out this observation for some thoughts. HERE (photo: Kelly, Evatt, Breen)

*If the snow surface does not soften, slide for life conditions could be on many slopes.

Type

Location

Likelihood

Size

Description

It remains possible to trigger an avalanche 2-4 feet deep on a persistent weak layer in the snowpack. These layers move towards dormancy, and the likelihood slowly decreases each day. However, the snowpack is so variable right now. This means that in one place, you can have a deep and strong snowpack while in another place, the snowpack is shallow. Look at the pictures below. The image on the right and in the middle is a snowpit with a total depth of 195 cm (6 feet). At the same time, the image on the right is a snowpit of a slope that has previously avalanched and only has a 100 cm depth (3.2 feet) and has weak faceted snow below. Dave Kelly also got full propagation results at this location. This would be the exact location where you can still trigger a slab avalanche.

For now, my advice would be to probe (check depth) and dig down in the snowpack before committing to any steep north-facing terrain and make sure the slope has not avalanched before. Steep rocky terrain or slopes with a shallow snowpack would also be very suspect for harboring weaker snow. The other option is to continue avoiding steep shady terrain where these layers still exist.

Additional Information

Be sure to read Nikki's Week in Review with a summary of significant snow, weather, and avalanche events from this past week.

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