Forecast - Utah Avalanche Center

Forecast for the Salt Lake Area Mountains

Issued by Drew Hardesty on
Thursday morning, December 12, 2024

The avalanche danger will rise to MODERATE today on steep wind drifted slopes at upper elevations. It will be possible to trigger shallow soft slabs of wind drifted snow that may be up to a foot thick. These new soft slabs will mostly be found on slopes facing west to north to southeast and may be triggered at a distance. Out of the wind zone, it remains possible to trigger dry loose avalanches in steep northerly terrain.

While the chance of triggering an avalanche breaking into old weak faceted snow is unlikely, it's clearly not impossible (see below).

Low

Moderate

Considerable

High

Extreme

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Weather and Snow

Today's guest forecast is written by Joey Manship, the UAC's motorized avalanche education coordinator.

Currently, skies are partly cloudy with a weak Pacific storm on tap. Mountain temperatures are in the mid to upper 20’s and winds have started to pick up from the southwest.

For today, expect to see 20-30mph winds gusting into the 40-50mph range at upper elevations. I would expect to see flurries late afternoon or early evening and possible accumulations of about 1” from this moisture-starved storm.

Moving past Friday, we will have two weather systems impacting the Central Wasatch. The first is expected to show its face Saturday into Sunday. This storm is currently predicted to drop 5-10” of snow, but stay tuned. A second, weaker system is expected to arrive briefly on Tuesday before exiting the state.

Recent Avalanches

There were no backcountry avalanches reported yesterday, however Park City Mountain Resort avalanche teams did trigger an outlier avalanche with explosives. This avalanche broke 1-2’ deep and 75’ wide, failing on old weak faceted snow near the ground on a north facing slope around 9,900'. This is a good example of spatial variability and the tricky nature of an early season PWL (persistent weak layer) of weak faceted grains. The last reported avalanche on this layering was in South Monitor bowl (just north of this one here) on November 30th! Photo below:

Click HERE to view all recent observations.

Type

Location

Likelihood

Size

Description

Moderate to strong winds will create shallow soft slabs of wind drifted snow on leeward slopes today. Look for pillowy, wind loaded areas where the wind is depositing these fresh drifts. These will likely be forming on west to north to south east facing slopes. These wind drifts may be shallow but could be quite sensitive since they will be forming on top of weak, faceted snow. Remember that cracking and collapsing are sure giveaways to unstable snow.

Type

Location

Likelihood

Size

Description

Although our PWL has become less reactive over time, a change in weather could start to reawaken it in specific terrain. Look for areas that have had wind effect and remember to practice good backcountry travel techniques. It is still early season conditions out there and we are exposing ourselves to rocks, stumps, and trees.

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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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