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Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon on
Wednesday morning, February 5, 2020
Heads up... avalanche danger will rise overnight through Friday
For today-
In the wind zone at and above treeline, steep, wind drifted slopes offer MODERATE avalanche danger and human triggered avalanches are POSSIBLE.
While more the exception than the rule, avalanches breaking into deeper, buried weak layers remains a distinct possibility. Usual suspects include- steep, rocky, upper elevation terrain, especially slopes exhibiting a thin, shallow snowpack. Remember- any slide that breaks to old snow, immediately ruins your day.
Lose the wind and you lose most of the hazard.
Wind sheltered, low and mid elevation slopes with no steep terrain above or adjacent to where you're riding offers LOW avalanche danger and human triggered avalanches are UNLIKELY.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
Learn how to read the forecast here
Special Announcements
Save the date... and take a date. Please join me next week for a coffee and a snowpack update. It'll be informative, enlightening, and quite possibly entertaining :)
Weather and Snow
Currently-
High clouds drifted over the region last night and temperatures slowly creep out of negative territory, but still register near or below zero at most remote weather stations. Winds switched to the west around midnight and blow 20-30 mph along the high ridges. Recent light density storm snow did little to help cushion old, hard tracks and crusts, but get of the beaten path, add a little north to your riding terrain and you'll be rewarded with shallow, cold snow.
Uinta weather network info is found here. Simply click on the Western Uinta tab.
For today-
Clouds thicken and temperatures crack into the mid teens. Westerly winds bump into the 30's and 40's along the ridges later today and snow develops this evening.
Futurecast-
Above... our good friend and lead hydrologist from the NWS delivers a time frame for the upcoming storm.
Recent Avalanches
No significant avalanche activity to report.
To view additional trip reports and recent avalanche activity, simply click here.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Yesterday, Micheal J found excellent riding conditions and a few shallow, yet very manageable wind drifts on steep, leeward slopes. His trip report is found here.
Along the high ridges, there's no shortage of light density to blow around and whip into fresh drifts that'll react to our additional weight. While the vast majority of today's wind slabs will break at or below our skis, board, or sled.... remember, the Uintas are a big range. So, as you travel from one drainage to another, simply re-evaluate the terrain you plan to ride rather than blindly center-punching it.
Avalanche Problem #2
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Right now, most terrain offers a deep snowpack and it's happy in its own skin. However, a solid looking storm is on tap and that will test the strength, resiliency, and stability of our pack. As the storm develops we'll definitely wanna steer clear of steep, rocky terrain and slopes that avalanched near the ground earlier in the season.
Additional Information
Thanks to the generous support of our Utah ski resorts and Ski Utah, we have discount lift tickets available. All proceeds support the UAC. Get your tickets HERE.
Get one of these cool t-shirts to support the UAC and other avalanche centers across the U.S. INFO
General Announcements
The information in this forecast expires in 24 hours, but will be updated by 7:00 AM Thursday Feb. 6th.
This forecast is updated daily by 7:00 AM.
In the mean-time, 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
This is a great time of year to schedule one of our free avy awareness presentations.
You can email me directly [email protected]
The information in this forecast is from the US Forest Service which is solely responsible for its content.
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