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Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon for
Thursday, April 4, 2019
While there may still be a rogue drift or two on steep northerly slopes in the wind zone that'll react to our additional weight, the vast majority of terrain available to ride in today offers LOW avalanche danger. Both human triggered and natural avalanches are UNLIKELY.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
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When the forecasting ends, the UAC’s work keeps going strong. Summer is a busy time for the UAC. During the summer we are working hard on our fall and winter planning; putting together the Fall Fundraiser and USAW; updating our awareness and education programs; this summer we will be finishing up the website redesign project. Your donation shows you’re invested in this community all year round! You can still be part of the UAC’s success in 2019. Consider making a donation HERE by April 8.
Weather and Snow
Skies cleared overnight allowing temperatures to dip into the teens and low 20's where they sit this morning. Winds are light and westerly, blowing 10-20 mph along the high peaks. Yesterday's 6"-8" of snow got a bit greenhoused during the day, but may have dried out slightly overnight. In either case, powder riding is limited to upper elevation north facing terrain.... getting there is a bit rugged.
Above is hourly snow data from Upper Moffit Basin (9, 126')
And Windy Peak (10,662')
Doing some weather station maintenance Monday... you know it's a big year when the snow depth site in Upper Moffit Basin is nearly buried.
To view more regional weather stations click here.
Recent Avalanches
Jim and his crew found solid riding and a straight-forward avy hazard, but did note triggering a long running loose snow sluff in the big terrain near Bald Mountain yesterday. More on their travels here.
Recent trip reports and avy activity found HERE.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Yesterday's fresh drifts settled out rather rapidly as the day progressed and I think this morning you'll find them mostly welded in place. But remember that the Uinta's are a big range and there could still be a rogue drift or two out there that'll react to our additional weight. If you're getting into steep, technical terrain, look for and avoid any fat, rounded piece of snow, especially if it sounds hollow like a drum. The good news... this is an easy avalanche problem to avoid and you can still have blast by simply steering clear of steep, wind drifted, upper elevation terrain.
In addition-
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
High pressure is building and we'll see a beautiful day with light winds and temperatures warming into the 40's. Clouds thicken throughout the day and by late tonight southwest winds increase. A quick moving cold front sets its sights on the region for late Friday night into Saturday morning, bringing a period of high-density accumulating snow with 3"-6" expected. A break early in the week with another storm scheduled for midweek.
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 April 5th, 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.
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