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Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Mark Staples
Issued by Mark Staples on
Friday morning, April 1, 2022
Hello April! After last weekend's dramatic warm-up, then Tuesday's storm (4-8"), and a solid refreeze of the snowpack Wednesday and Thursday, conditions have changed a lot.
The avalanche danger today is LOW on all aspects and elevations.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
Learn how to read the forecast here
Special Announcements
We'd like to thank our incredible community for your support of the 2022 Spring Campaign. We raised $75,000 in two weeks to help grow our avalanche forecasting program. Thank You!
Weather and Snow
NOWCAST-
Yesterday it was nice to see a few snowflakes falling but they only accumulated a trace of snow at best. Overnight, temperatures dropped and this morning are in the teens F at upper elevations and low to mid 20s F at trailheads. Winds are blowing from the west at 20-30 mph on the high peaks and only 3-10 mph at lower elevations.
FORECAST-
Skies will be clear and sunny today. Air temperatures should mostly be below freezing but will feel much warmer in the strong April sunshine. Winds should generally be light and blow from the west-northwest.
FUTURECAST-
Some clouds return Sunday with a few disturbances and some snowfall, but the best chance for snow comes Tuesday when 6 inches could fall. Ridging with dry, warm weather takes over later next week.
Yesterday I found that the new snow had settled down to 4-5 inches on Shingle Mill Flats, and the upper foot and a half of the snowpack was frozen solid. On Wednesday just after the storm, Ted found 8-10 inches near Ruth Lake.
Trip reports and snowpack observations are found HERE.
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
No avalanches have been reported over the last few days.
An archive of recent slides is found HERE.
Your input is vital and we're interested in what you're seeing. Please contribute to this great community resource and go here to fill out an observation.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
It's been a wild ride of unusual avalanche conditions. The buried persistent weak layer (PWL) of faceted snow became damp during last weekend's heatwave, and the snow above it became wet.
Now, the PWL has gained strength and hardness, and the snow above it is solidly refrozen with several ice crusts. The combination of this refrozen snow and the increased strength of the PWL makes the likelihood of triggering an avalanche on it low today.
Additional Information
AVALANCHE TERRAIN:
Slope angle determines where avalanches can happen and where they can't. Generally, any slope steeper than 30 degrees is where avalanches occur. This means all you need to do is ride slopes less than 30 degrees in steepness and you'll never have to deal with avalanches.
There's a catch! You can't be underneath slopes steeper than 30 degrees either, even if you're on a flat slope, because avalanches can crash down on you. It turns out that skiing or riding slopes about 25 degrees in steepness is really fun and even more fun because there's no worry of avalanches. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of practice to estimate slope angles with your eyes alone. The way to get practice and the only way to know for sure is to measure slope angles with slope measuring tool shown in the photo below, and Toby describes it in this video. There are also many apps so that you can use your phone in a similar manner.
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
The information in this forecast expires 24 hours after the day and time posted, but will be updated by 07:00 Friday, April 1st.
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.
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