Forecast: Salt Lake Area Mountains - Utah Avalanche Center

Forecast for the Salt Lake Area Mountains

Issued by Nikki Champion on
Tuesday morning, March 31, 2026

Due to the rapid and early melt-off, we've stopped issuing daily forecasts for the season. This most recent update is from Tuesday, March 31, 2026. Intermittent updates will be issued through the spring as conditions warrant. We will continue publishing observations as they come in, so please keep submitting them when you're out and about.

Incoming storms will bring changing conditions, with the potential for increasing hazard.

Spring storms can still behave like winter. Treat each one the same way. Avalanches can form within the new snow, often tied to low-density layers, periods of higher snowfall intensity, and wind slabs that develop during the storm. Stay tuned and keep checking the forecast.

Low

Moderate

Considerable

High

Extreme

Learn how to read the forecast here

Special Announcements

A new version the UAC's mobile app has been released with new features and improvements. Learn more and download the app HERE.

Weather and Snow

A few scattered showers could pop up this afternoon, but amounts should stay light. Things ramp up this evening when a cold front moves through, bringing a period of heavier precipitation into early Wednesday morning before tapering off pretty quickly mid-morning as the moisture shuts off. This comes in warm, with snow levels starting around 9000 feet and dropping to about 7500 to 8000 feet by early Wednesday. Expect dense, heavy snow, with totals really depending on elevation, around 5 to 8 inches.

After a bit of a lull, another wave moves in late Wednesday night into Thursday. This one is quicker-hitting but colder, bringing another round of accumulating snow to the Cottonwoods. The heaviest snow looks to fall Thursday afternoon as the front moves through, with northwest flow setting up behind it into Friday morning. Totals will depend on how long that northwest flow sticks around. A quicker system shuts things down Thursday evening, while a slower exit could keep snow going into Friday morning. Could see around 8 to 16 inches of new snow.

Click HERE to get to our weather page for up-to-date weather station data that will help with planning your tour based on new snow, temperature, wind speed, and direction.

Our partners at the National Weather Service put out a weather discussion HERE and the mountain weather forecast will continue to be updated twice a day through the first week of May.

Recent Avalanches

Cornice-triggered wet slide on Pioneer Peak: Scheuerlein spotted a cornice that naturally failed in the heat, and triggered a large wet slide on the slopes below yesterday. This slide likely ran on 3/26. More on slides like this below.

You can view all recent observations HERE.

Type

Location

Likelihood

Size

Description

The snowpack remains mostly wet and unconsolidated.

Wet Loose: This will be the most common concern, with the possibility for natural and human-triggered avalanches involving wet snow near the surface. These may be long-running and gouge down into the snowpack. These avalanches are especially dangerous in steep terrain or above terrain traps such as steep-sided gullies, where escaping the flow is difficult.
Cornices: As temperatures rise, large cornices built earlier in the season become more and more fragile. Steer clear of traveling directly under these or through runouts where a falling cornice may trigger a larger wet slide once it impacts the slope above—like the slide on Pioneer Peak. Be sure to give them a wide berth when traveling on ridgelines, as they can break back further than expected.
Wet Slabs & Glide Avalanches: As meltwater moves deeper into the snowpack, it can pool on buried crusts or weak layers, weakening the structure and allowing avalanches to break deeper and wider. These are larger and more destructive slides and may occur naturally. Glide avalanches happen when this water pools at the ground, causing the whole snowpack to slide—typically over smooth rock slabs or grassy slopes, like on High Ivory last weekend. Avoid traveling on or beneath slopes with visible glide cracks or known glide paths such as Broads Fork, Stairs Gulch, and Mill B South.

Additional Information

A big thanks to everyone who took the time to submit observations this season, continued reading the forecast through our…less-than-inspiring….periods of weather, and worked to continue learning through paying attention to the snowpack. Even in years where we may not get a lot of powder skiing, we can still learn so much about snow and traveling through the mountains. Continue to pay attention, keep a keen eye, and know that your persistence will pay off in the seasons you have ahead of you. Stay safe and have fun out there this spring.

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