UDOT PLANNED AVALANCHE CLOSURES!!

Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon for
Sunday, October 23, 2022
Welcome back winter.... we missed you!
Thanks for checking in. We'll issue updates as conditions warrant and winter returns from its hiatus.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
Learn how to read the forecast here
Special Announcements
I hope you got it whilst the gettin' was good. Friday was probably the last day you were able to work on your ridgetop weather stations in shorts and flipflops. Yup, we've been super busy this summer upgrading the western Uinta weather station network and this real-time info is found HERE (there's some early season hoops to jump through, but please be patient with the prompts, click weather stations, and then on Western Uinta tab)
SAVE THE DATE and TAKE A DATE-
Grab your riding posse and sign up for the 15th Annual Utah Snow and Avalanche Workshop (USAW). It's two nights of solid avy education, delivered by a remarkable group of presenters, all delivered virtually to the comfort of your own home... November 2nd and 9th. Sign up and get more info for the first session HERE and the second session HERE.
The Avalanche Professional and Ski Patrol Snow and Avalanche Workshop (PROSAW) will be during the day of November 7th. Sign up and get more info HERE.
Additional Training Opportunities-
It's never to early to start thinking about avalanches. A few things to consider doing:
Attend USAW and learn more about avalanches and decision making.
Sign up for an avalanche class.
Take the online courses listed on the KBYG website (Develop skills -> Online Learning).
Get your avalanche rescue gear ready for winter. Put fresh batteries in your transceiver and update the firmware. Inspect your shovel and probe. Get your airbag backpack ready by possibly doing a test deployment and update the firmware if it is an electric version.
Weather and Snow
Graphic above depicts the evolution of our storm from a data dump at Windy Peak (10,662')
Great storm for the eastern front, especially the North Slope and Mirror Lake Highway where nearly a foot of fresh snow with just over an inch of H2O blankets the high ridges. About half that amount stacked up on the south half of the range. So, just like that... there's enough snow to move around on. And now I think about early season roadside attractions like Murdock Bowl off the Mirror Lake Highway or Wolf Creek Bowl near Highway 35 and Wolf Creek Pass. Easy grabs... right? Even though it might not seem like there's enough snow to avalanche, today you'll want to avoid any steep, wind drifted slope. Remember- even a small wind drift packs enough punch to knock you off your feet and may result in a season ending injury if you slam into a stump, rock, or deadfall barely hidden under the shallow snow.

Wow... talk about a meteorological Rorschach Ink Blot test. That's the kind of winter weather map we like to see!
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Additional Information
As the seasons shift we will see you back here more frequently
Your observations are important, so please let me know what you're seeing... click HERE and contribute to this amazing community based program
General Announcements
I will update this forecast as conditions change and then once winter kicks into gear you can expect the usual daily forecasts issued by 07:00... or perhaps earlier :)
Before it gets too crazy, now is the time to book an avalanche awareness presentation for your group, club, or posse. 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.