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Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Mark Staples
Issued by Mark Staples on
Friday morning, January 29, 2021
HEADS UP - Very strong winds have created dangerous avalanche conditions
Near and above treeline today on slopes facing west, north, and east the avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE. Avalanches will break in the wind drifted snow or break deeper into older layers of faceted snow. You may not see natural avalanches but HUMAN TRIGGERED AVALANCHES ARE LIKELY. You can trigger avalanches by simply being under or near steep slopes.
All other terrain has a MODERATE avalanche danger. Very few slopes will be unaffected by recent strong, southerly winds.
There is plenty of great terrain in the Uintas that is less than 30 degrees in steepness where avalanches generally don't happen as long as nothing steeper is above you.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
Learn how to read the forecast here
Special Avalanche Bulletin
THE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER HAS CONTINUED A SPECIAL AVALANCHE BULLETIN FROM 6 AM MST THIS MORNING TO 6 AM MST SATURDAY
FOR THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTHERN UTAH INCLUDING THE WASATCH RANGE, THE BEAR RIVER RANGE, AND THE UINTA MOUNTAINS.
DANGEROUS AVALANCHE CONDITIONS EXIST.
Special Announcements
Thanks to the generous support of our local resorts, Ski Utah, and Backcountry, discount lift tickets are now available HERE. Support the UAC while you ski at the resorts this season.
Weather and Snow
Nowcast-
Strong winds from the south and southeast continue this morning averaging 20-30 mph gusting 40-50 mph. Temperatures are mostly in the mid teens F while lower elevations and trailheads have temperatures in the upper 20s F. Since yesterday 2-4 inches of snow fell.
Forecast-
Strong southerly winds will continue this morning but slowly ease throughout the day. High temperatures at upper elevations today will be near 20 degrees F. Snowfall should begin sometime this afternoon and continue through Saturday morning. Total snowfall will be about 4-6 inches.
Futurecast-
Snowfall should be tapering off midday tomorrow, and Sunday will have clear, sunny skies under a ridge of high pressure that will start moving out of the area on Monday making way for the next trough that should bring more snow late Tuesday through early Thursday followed by some below average temperatures. Long-range weather models are suggesting more snow next weekend.
Looking for real-time temps, snow, or wind?
Click here and then on the "western Uinta" tab for western Uinta specific, weather station network.
Recent Avalanches
There were many avalanches in the Wasatch mountains yesterday - a few natural, some human-triggered and some triggered by ski areas. This avalanche activity is a good heads up about conditions in the Uintas which would have seen just as many avalanches if there had been more people out. Ted Scroggin was riding near Bear River yesterday and commented that "all the ingredients for slab avalanches are in place except the trigger."
There was one slide triggered by a skier yesterday in upper Weber Canyon. What was significant is that the avalanche was triggered remotely, and it occurred on a 31 degree slope which is barely steep enough to slide. (photo D. Kikkert)
On Wednesday, several avalanches of wind drifted snow happened in upper Weber Canyon. They were likely triggered by a piece of falling cornice. One of these winds slabs caused an avalanche to break in deeper layers of the snowpack on the lower part of the slope (photo D. Kikkert).
Check in here for recent trip reports and avalanche observations.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
The snowpack is teetering near its breaking point with multiple persistent weak layers of faceted snow under a slab of new snow and wind drifted snow. Southerly winds have made the situation worse by loading north facing slopes and cross loading east and west facing slopes.
Most slopes are waiting for a trigger like a person or a falling cornice which will likely trigger an avalanche today.
The strategty to avoid these avalanches is to avoid avalanche terrain. Regular observer JG with decades of Uinta experience put it best in his recent ob "I have a low tolerance for risk based on our snowpack setup so I'm going to continue to avoid terrain 30° and steeper. "
Video describing how you can trigger avalanches from below.
Avalanche Problem #2
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Craig was in the Chalk Creek area on Wednesday (video below) and observed winds from the south and southeast drifting snow onto many slopes. With such strong winds, nearly all slopes above and near treeline have been affected. Even slopes well below treeline have likely been affected by winds.
These slabs of wind drifted snow will continue growing today and be easy to trigger. They can also cause an avalanche to break deeper into old snow layers of faceted snow and cause a bigger avalanche.
Additional Information
I will update this forecast by 7:00 AM tomorrow, Saturday January 30th.
Your observations are import, so please let me know what you're seeing... click HERE and contribute to this amazing community based program
General Announcements
If you see or trigger an avalanche or just wanna let me know what you're seeing you can reach me directly at 801-231-2170 or [email protected]
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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