Ad
The National Forest Service Logo
icon-add Observation
Forecasts
Logan Ogden Salt Lake Provo Uintas Skyline Moab Abajos Weather Archives How to read the forecast
Observations & Avalanches
Submit Observation NEW - Observations Explorer All Observations Avalanches Fatalities Place Names Map Archives
Education
Avalanche Awareness Develop Skills On-Snow Courses Resources and Tutorials
Events
Store
About
Contact Who we are Core Values Staff Board of Directors Past Forecasters Sponsors Annual Reports Sign In
Blog
icon-add Observation
Donate / Join

Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon for
Friday, February 24, 2023
Winds continue to reshape the landscape-
On steep, leeward slopes in the wind zone at and above treeline, you'll find CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger. With a little provocation, both new and older wind drifts react to our additional weight and human triggered avalanches are LIKELY, especially in terrain facing the north half of the compass, particularly on slopes with an easterly component to their aspect. While not as obvious or widespread, pockets of MODERATE danger are found in mid elevation terrain near treeline and human triggered avalanches are POSSIBLE on steep slopes with recent deposits of wind drifted snow.
Lose the wind and you lose the problem... LOW avalanche danger exists on mid and lower elevation terrain, especially slopes facing the south half of the compass.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
Learn how to read the forecast here
Weather and Snow
Nowcast- Low pressure churns away in the southern half of the state, feeding our zone with a few scattered snow showers, a band of clouds, and cold temperatures. Near the trailheads the day begins in the single digits whilst the ridges remain a bit more rugged and right around zero degrees. Southerly winds reached a crescendo around dinnertime, blowing in the 50's and 60's, but have slowly tapered off and start the new day spinning ridgetop anemometers in the 20's. The snow surface has taken a beating in the alpine, but lose some elevation, seek out mid elevation, wind sheltered terrain and you'll be rewarded with cold, creamy snow.
Forecast- Look for cloudy skies and a few scattered snow showers this morning with an inch or two expected. High temperatures finally crawl out of the deep freeze and reach into the mid 20's. Southerly winds remain reasonable, blowing in the 20's near the high peaks.
Futurecast- A short-lived lull in the action delivers a nice day Saturday, but snow redevelops for Sunday afternoon. An active pattern is on tap with on-again off-again snow continuing through Thursday.
Two informative trip reports worth viewing... Trevor was in Upper Weber Canyon while Brady visited lower elevation terrain near Mirror Lake Highway by Ponderosa Campground.
Huge thanks for all the great obs streaming in from the eastern front. Even more detailed trip reports and recent obs are found HERE.
Recent Avalanches
Will not particularly widespread, there is some weak snow buried under our recent round of snow and wind. Trevor's pit profile from yesterday is good food for thought, revealing a clean shear with energy, failing about 18" deep from the snow surface.
A few shallow wind drifts were the only game in town yesterday.
No significant avalanche activity to report, but if ya wanna geek out, click HERE to track this years slide activity throughout the range.
Ad
Avalanche Problem #1
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Less enthusiastic then I am to go to work, none-the-less you can see recent trends in wind speed, direction, and duration from Windy Peak (10,662').
Pretty straight-forward... southerly winds have blown for several days and there's no shortage of fresh snow to blow around and form drifts on the leeward side of ridges and around terrain features like chutes and gullies. Found mostly in the wind zone above treeline, I bet there's a drift or two lurking right around treeline as well. I think we give this avalanche problem another day to settle out and we'll be good to go. But, if you were looking for a wind slab to trigger... you can find one and it might break a little deeper than you'd expect. You know avoidance is the ticket, so be ready to pump the brakes on objectives if you're seeing shooting cracks out in front your your skis, board, or sled. This is an easy avalanche dragon to avoid... lose the wind and you lose the problem.
Additional Information
Weather stations-
And... rime events have severely crippled the Uinta weather station network. I'm working to get it back up and running, but a few stations are found HERE (click weather stations, and then on the Western Uinta tab)
Observations-
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
Issued at 03:19 on Friday February 24th, this forecast expires 24 hours after the date and time posted, but will be updated by 07:00 Saturday February 25th 2023.
Before it gets too crazy, now is the time to book an avalanche awareness presentation for your group, club, or posse. You can reach Craig 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.
< Previous forecast
Next forecast >