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Forecast for the Salt Lake Area Mountains

Trent Meisenheimer
Issued by Trent Meisenheimer on
Tuesday morning, March 9, 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 dry avalanches on all aspects and elevations. Slopes that have very slick/icy bed surfaces will be most suspect to loose dry avalanches. (2) small pockets of fresh wind drifts in open alpine terrain and along exposed ridgelines.
Many surfaces are now frozen solid, and slide-for-life conditions are a definite travel hazard. If getting into steep exposed terrain, carrying sharp pointy tools would be a good idea. Ice axe, crampons, and whippets would be useful.
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Weather and Snow
Overnight the mountain temperatures crashed as a cold front crossed into Northern Utah. This morning the current temperatures are in the 18-25 °F range. Winds have finally slowed and are currently blowing westerly at 5-10 mph gusting to 20 mph at most upper elevation weather stations.
This morning it's lightly snowing in some areas, and we could see some heavier snow showers for a few hours before the storm weakens with a brief break this afternoon. Another cold front pushes into Northern Utah later this afternoon/evening and allows for some more snowfall overnight into Wednesday. Both of these storms aren't impressive, and snow totals should be in the 2-6" range by Wednesday morning (fingers crossed for more). A welcomed return of winter.
The turning and riding conditions might be at an all-time low this morning with any slope that has seen the sun and/or been slightly melted from the warm temperatures over the past few days, now frozen solid. If we can quickly get a couple of inches of snow, that will improve the conditions drastically, but as of this morning, there is no new snow to report yet.
Recent Avalanches
No new 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
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Description
Normal caution generally advises safe avalanche conditions, with small avalanches in isolated areas possible. Below are a few things to keep in the cerebral hard drive today:
1. New snow - It's spring, and conditions can change rapidly. If for some reason, the snow rate (how fast the snow falls) increases for a short time period, we should be thinking about loose dry avalanches running fast and far on the slick bed surfaces. I don't expect this to happen today, but if we start stacking snow in a hurry, it could be very sensitive for a short time.
2. Wind drifted snow - Winds have slowed and are generally from the westerly direction blowing 5-10 mph. Currently, there is no new snow to blow around and make fresh drifts. However, as we start adding a few inches of new snow to the mountains, I imagine there will be some small isolated wind drifts at the upper elevation ridges. These small drifts will be small and should be easy to manage.
Slide-for-life - Many slopes are now frozen solid and will be very slick. Ice axes, crampons, whippets, and other tools would be recommended if traveling in steep, sustained terrain.
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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