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Forecast for the Salt Lake Area Mountains

Trent Meisenheimer
Issued by Trent Meisenheimer on
Monday morning, March 8, 2021
The avalanche danger is LOW. This means that human-triggered avalanches are unlikely, but small avalanches in isolated areas are possible. This includes (1) small, loose wet avalanches on aspects facing east, south, and west, as well as low and mid-elevation northerly slopes; (2) small pockets of fresh wind drifts in open alpine terrain and along exposed ridgelines.
Even with a forecasted Low danger rating, continue to maintain safe travel habits in avalanche terrain. This means exposing one person at a time and having someone watch them from a safe location, and not traveling above or below other parties.
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Special Announcements
The UAC staff has published a blog with answers to the numerous questions we received but were not able to answer during the Q & A session for the online meeting regarding the Wilson Glades February, 6 accident.
Weather and Snow
Under mostly cloudy skies, the mountain temperatures at about 9,000' hover around freezing (32 °F). Below 9,000', the temperatures are in the mid to upper 30's °F. Overnight the southerly winds picked up and are currently blowing 15-25 mph with gusts into the 20's and 30's mph.
Winds and temperatures will remain elevated today ahead of two small storms. The first storm will cross northern Utah tonight, and the other will cross tomorrow afternoon. Tonight trough, will drop the temperatures and bring some light snow. By Wednesday morning, we could see 2-6 inches of new snow. The good news is that we will see a much cooler and unsettled pattern for the remainder of the week.
The snow surfaces have been worked over the past few days of wind and sun. Only the most upper elevation sheltered north-facing terrain holds soft settled snow. Everything else is either crusted, wet, or wind-blasted.
Our Week in Review - where we highlight significant avalanche and weather events from the past week - has been published.
Recent Avalanches
There were a few reports of minor wet loose avalanche activity on Saturday and Sunday, including what appears to be a small glide avalanche in Broads Fork. Otherwise, no new significant avalanche activity was reported yesterday. As always, you can find more details in the Observations and Avalanches tab on our website.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Normal Caution
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Location
Likelihood
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Description
Normal caution advises generally safe avalanche conditions, with small avalanches in isolated areas possible. Two things to watch for today include:
1. Wet snow - Today's winds will help keep the snow surface cooler, but as the day heats up and the snow gets wet, it will be possible to trigger small, wet-loose avalanches. Although natural, wet-avalanche activity is likely to be minimal, is could be consequential if you are caught in a terrain trap or confined in a steep-sided gully such as this party on Thursday in the Y-Not Couloir.
2. Wind drifted snow - Moderate to strong winds over the past 36 hours have created small pockets of fresh wind drifted snow along exposed ridgelines and in open terrain in the alpine. Although these fresh wind drifts are likely to be small, they may be consequential in steep terrain.
The observation of what appears to be a glide avalanche in Broads Fork is a reminder that we are entering the season where glide avalanches become increasingly likely in terrain such as Broads Fork, Mill B South, and Stairs Gulch. The timing of these events is unpredictable, but glide avalanches can be very large and run to the valley bottoms.
General Announcements
Please visit this website with information about Responsible Winter Recreation by the Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE GENERAL INFO AND FAQ
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.
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