Nowcast - Overnight, a band of thickening clouds drifted into the Uinta zone as ridgetop winds blowing 30-50 mph from the southwest, eagerly return from their union shift break at the turn of the new day and get right back to business. From tip to tail, current temperatures hover right around freezing. The snowpack remains thin and boney, but the midweek storm did help to improve riding and turning conditions. Though to be fair... I have set a rather low bar for myself this year :)
Forecast - A swath of Atmospheric River slides into the region later today and that'll deliver a warm, wet, windy storm. Winds blow from the west and southwest, averaging in the 30 mph range along the ridges, gusting into the 60's and 70's near the high peaks. Temperatures climb to near 38 degrees F and dense snow develops around suppertime. A cold front slithers through northern Utah late in the day ushering cooler temperatures and lower density snow. Not a blockbuster storm, but I think we'll stack up 5" of snow with just over .50" H20 for your Saturday morning ride.
Futurecast - A hardly noticeable break in the action is slated for Saturday with another impulse in the queue to round out the weekend.
Travel Conditions -
Wednesday's storm was a welcome gift, helping to improve spirits and add a little cushion to our travels. However, the snow surface and overall coverage is a variable, mixed bag of both strong and weak snow.
Ted visited the Bald Mountain area yesterday and I was in the Wolf Creek Zone. I'm still crunching the numbers, but if my math is correct... five out of five avalanche forecasters surveyed report a white from far, but far from white snowpack along with a few collapses in rocky slopes where the pack is shallow..
Meanwhile, Andy visited the South Slope on Tuesday.
All the snowpros I knows report a tale of two snowpacks. Old snow near the ground on slopes facing the north half of the compass has grown weak and very sugary, while many sunny slopes are still waiting for the invite to the company-wide Holiday Party.
No new avalanche activity to report since the catch and carry earlier in the month. More deets on that close call here. In addition, you can find an abundance of trip reports and observations from across the range and beyond, just click on the button below.
