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Forecast for the Salt Lake Area Mountains

Drew Hardesty
Issued by Drew Hardesty for
Monday, November 19, 2012

Most terrain has a LOW avalanche danger. A lingering MODERATE danger exists on the northeast through north through northwest facing slopes above about 9500' . Human triggered slides remain possible. Continue safe travel habits such as riding steeper terrain one at a time. Always keep within sight or verbal contact. Avoid jumping in terrain with people below you.

Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
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Weather and Snow

Not too shabby of a storm after all. Most areas picked up a trace overnight and about 3" yesterday pushing snow totals to 10-14" in the upper - and I mean upper reaches of the Cottonwoods, Park City mountains, and , I suspect, the highest reaches of the Provo area mountains. Water-weight numbers came in at 1.4-1.85 inches. Those who started their day below about 8500' needed new Gore-tex or PVC, but frankly this high density graupel and rimed snowflakes has done wonders shoring up the coverage in the mountains. Riding conditions and snowshoeing are quite good and coverage for off-trail snowmobiling is improving.

Skies are mostly cloudy and clearing....Temps are in the mid to upper 20s; winds remain southwesterly and generally less than 15mph.

Recent Avalanches

No reports of cracking, significant collapsing, or avalanches from the backcountry yesterday.

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New Snow
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Adding an inch to an inch and a half of snow-water-equivalent to the snowpack was a good test of the old October snow yesterday. No results. Snow tests on straight north facing slopes above 9500', however, do continue to show full propagation along the old snow interface about two feet down...and for this reason alone, I'll probably stay on lower angled slopes in this terrain. Other slightly off aspects, the northeast and northwest, offer variable and inconclusive results. It's been exactly a week now since one of these avalanches has been triggered in the backcountry. The snowpack seems to be on the mend.

Additional Information

We'll have mostly cloudy giving way to partly cloudy skies today. Temps will remain balmy in the low 30s. Winds will remain southwesterly at 15mph. We'll have clear skies tomorrow with a windy and warming trend on tap for mid-week as a storm races by to the north of us. We may see a flurry or two Wednesday night...with perhaps a quick hitting storm about a week out.

General Announcements

If you trigger an avalanche in the backcountry - especially if you are adjacent to a ski area – please call the following teams to alert them to the slide and whether anyone is missing or not. Rescue teams can be exposed to significant hazard when responding to avalanches, and do not want to do so when unneeded. Thanks.

Salt Lake and Park City – Alta Central (801-742-2033)

Ogden – Snowbasin Patrol Dispatch (801-620-1017)

Provo – Sundance Patrol Dispatch (801-223-4150)

Dawn Patrol Forecast Hotline, updated by 05:30: 888-999-4019 option 8.

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Daily observations are frequently posted by 10 pm each evening.

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UDOT canyon closures UDOT at (801) 975-4838

Wasatch Powderbird Guides does daily updates about where they'll be operating on this blog http://powderbird.blogspot.com/ .

Remember your information can save lives. If you see anything we should know about, please participate in the creation of our own community avalanche advisory by submitting snow and avalanche conditions. You can also call us at 801-524-5304 or 800-662-4140, or email by clicking HERE

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We will update this forecast tomorrow. Thanks for calling.

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