UDOT PLANNED AVALANCHE CLOSURES!!

Forecast for the Skyline Area Mountains

Brett Kobernik
Issued by Brett Kobernik for
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
The overall avalanche danger is MODERATE on the Skyline.
The new snow shouldn't pose much threat on it's own.
My biggest concern is the state of the wet snow underneath the new snow. I would approach things with caution. If the older wet snow is still punchy and unsupportable to the point your boots are sinking through really deep, you should avoid steep slopes. Hopefully the cooler temperatures are helping lock things up but this is unknown this morning.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
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Weather and Snow
Current Conditions
The storm did well on the Skyline and we've received up to 8 inches of new snow since yesterday afternoon. Temperatures cooled a bit but remain fairly warm with most stations in the upper 20s to around freezing. The rain/snow line should be in the 7000' to 8000' range. I'm assuming the new snow will be pretty high density. The underlying snow is most likely still wet. Southwest wind has been pretty light.
Mountain Weather
Snowfall will taper off this morning. We should see a couple more periods of snow later today and tonight. I'm thinking another 3 to 5 inches of snow is reasonable. Temperatures are going to get into the low 30s today. The flow shifts to the northwest and the wind speed will increase a bit. We may see a little clearing Wednesday afternoon. Another small storm moves through on Thursday that might be good for a few more inches of snow.
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Avalanche Problem #1
New Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
My assumption is that the new snow will be well behaved today. Without much wind, I'm guessing that we won't find sensitive drifts out there today. It should've bonded decently to the old snow surface also. But, as always with new snow, you want to poke, prod and tweak on it before just diving into steep slopes. Use small test slopes to see if you can get the new snow to crack. After hitting a number of these it usually becomes obvious if there is any instability within the new snow.
Avalanche Problem #2
Wet Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
I'm not quite sure what to think of the old snow (now buried) since it became wet on almost all of the terrain over the weekend. It should be starting to lock up with the colder weather but just how much it's done this is a question. If you get out there today and are still punching your boots deep into the old wet snow, definitely avoid any steep slopes. I'll have a better handle on the deeper snowpack after fieldwork today.
General Announcements
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.