Forecast: Salt Lake Area Mountains - Utah Avalanche Center

Forecast for the Salt Lake Area Mountains

Issued by Nikki Champion on
Wednesday morning, April 1, 2020

Today, the overall avalanche danger is MODERATE. Another day of warm temperatures and partly cloudy skies will cause wet-loose avalanches to develop on all elevation solar slopes and low and mid-elevation northerly slopes during the heat of the day.

At the upper elevations, fresh slabs of wind drifted snow up to 3 feet deep may still exist. Look for any signs of wind drifted snow, and avoid those slopes

Pay attention to changing springtime conditions and evaluate terrain carefully.

Low

Moderate

Considerable

High

Extreme

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Weather and Snow

This morning, mountain temperatures are in the low 30s F at trailheads and upper 20s F at ridgelines. Winds are still elevated and currently west southwesterly blowing 10-20 mph, with gusts above 30 mph at mid-elevations. At upper elevations, the winds are averaging 30 mph with gusts near 50 mph.

Today, a slow-moving cold front will bring another chance of light snow showers and partly cloudy skies to the area. Mountain temperatures will be in the mid-30s and low 40s F, Winds will become more westerly, averaging 10-20 mph at mid-elevations, and 30 - 40 mph at upper elevations with gusts reaching up to 60 mph.

The next round of precipitation should begin tonight and could bring 3-6" of low-density snow to the area.

Recent Avalanches

Yesterday multiple small wet-loose avalanches were reported in the backcountry during periods of clear skies.

A few soft-slab avalanches of wind drifted snow was also reported in the backcountry. These were primarily isolated to upper elevation northerly features such as ridgelines, or cross-loaded gullies.

Photo of a wind slab in White Pine triggered on a Northwest slope around 10,100'. This avalanche was 10" deep and broke 45' wide. (Photo: BL)

Check out all the recent slides HERE.

Type

Location

Likelihood

Size

Description

There is still a lot of new snow on all slopes in the backcountry and once warm temperatures and sun hit this new snow, it immediately becomes wet and begins to produce wet avalanche activity. When I was traveling on the Park City Ridgeline, yesterday, I saw many small wet-loose avalanches and rollerballs on all aspects as soon as the sun came out.

Another day with warm temperatures and broken skies will quickly warm the snow on all solar aspects, as well as mid and low elevation northerlies. Natural and human triggered loose wet sloughs will become likely as the slopes warm. These usually start at your feet and fan out below you. HOWEVER, watch out for these slides happening naturally especially if you are in a gully or any confined terrain where a small one could pile up deeply. Look for signs of wet snow like rollerballs.

Photo of wet activity on Mt. Raymond yesterday - point releases and roller balls are a sign of wet snow. (Photo: Manship)

Type

Location

Likelihood

Size

Description

Elevated winds from the Southwest yesterday into this morning may have transported some dry snow and created small pockets of recent-wind drifted snow in isolated upper-elevation terrain features, such as ridgelines and cross-loaded gullies. These drifts may be up to 3 feet deep and 100 feet wide and reactive to cornice drops and ski cuts. Avoid terrain features with any obvious signs of wind-drifted snow.

Pay attention to cornices: Many ridgelines now have overhanging cornices, and yesterday there were a few reports of cornice triggered wind slabs. A few days of strong winds at the uppermost ridgelines have made cornices even larger. Be sure to give cornices a wide berth as they typically break much further back than expected.

Additional Information

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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

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