UDOT PLANNED AVALANCHE CLOSURES!!

Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon for
Thursday, March 21, 2019
The avalanche danger is generally LOW this morning and both human triggered and natural avalanches are unlikely. With a change in the weather and a storm on tap, the danger in the wind zone may rise to MODERATE by late in the day. While not widespread and depending on the storms arrival, fresh wind drifts could become sensitive to our additional weight by days end.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
Learn how to read the forecast here
Weather and Snow
Clouds began streaming in from the south overnight ahead of a stretch of unsettled weather slated to impact the region the next few days. Currently, temperatures are in the mid 20's and total settled snow depths hover right around seven feet. East and southeast winds bumped into the 30's and low 40's right around dinnertime last night and have blown steadily since. Riding and turning conditions took a bit of a hit overnight and it's gonna be sorta rugged out there this morning. But fear not.... a reset is on the way. So have a little patience, get your projects done today, and we'll have some shallow fresh snow on tap for your Friday morning ride.
Above is hourly data from Trial Lake (9,945') and Windy Peak (10,662'). To view more regional weather stations click here.
John Mletschnig was in the Millcreek zone yesterday and found stunning views, and not surprising, a slightly weaker snowpack than in some of our deeper areas found in the central core of the range. More on John's travels found here.
Recent Avalanches
Dave Kikkert was near Moffit Peak yesterday and was able to trigger shallow sluffs in steep sustained terrain. More on Dave's travels here.
Occurring naturally, a piece of cornice peeled off this ridgeline in upper Weber Canyon sometime late Sunday afternoon. The bus sized piece of snow crashed onto the slope below, triggering a shallow wet slab which gouged into weak snow near the ground. Of note... a repeater, the snowpack was already shallow in this zone from an avalanche triggered earlier this year.
Recent trip reports and avy activity found HERE.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
A couple things to keep in mind during your travels today-
While mostly manageable in size, a large loose snow sluff in steep, technical, north facing terrain could knock you off your skis, board, or sled and take you for an unexpected ride. As the storm develops, look for an avoid fresh wind drifts along the leeward side of upper elevation ridges.
And finally don't forget-
Cornices are ginormous and may break back further than you might expect. You definitely wanna give these large, unpredictable pieces of snow a wide berth and not ruin someones day below by inadvertently knocking a boxcar size piece of snow down on them.
Additional Information
Snow showers spread north into our area this morning and become more widespread later today and tonight. Temperatures rise into the 30's and winds switch to the south and southeast, bumping into the 40's and 50's as the day wares on. Unsettled weather continues into Friday morning before the storm system lifts to our northeast. We could see 6"-8" of snow by midday Friday. A second fast-moving system will affect the region for the upcoming weekend.
General Announcements
The information in this advisory expires 24 hours after the date and time posted, but will be updated by 7:00 AM Friday March 22nd, 2019.
If you're getting out and about, please let me know what you're seeing especially if you see or trigger and avalanche. I can be reached at [email protected] or 801-231-2170
It's also a good time to set up one of our very popular avalanche awareness classes. Reach out to me and I'll make it happen.
This information does not apply to developed ski areas or highways where avalanche control is normally done. This advisory is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.