Ad
The National Forest Service Logo
icon-add Observation
Forecasts
Logan Ogden Salt Lake Provo Uintas Skyline Moab Abajos Weather Archives How to read the forecast
Observations & Avalanches
Submit Observation NEW - Observations Explorer All Observations Avalanches Fatalities Place Names Map Archives
Education
Avalanche Awareness Develop Skills On-Snow Courses Resources and Tutorials
Events
Store
About
Contact Who we are Core Values Staff Board of Directors Past Forecasters Sponsors Annual Reports Sign In
Blog
icon-add Observation
Donate / Join

Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon for
Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Terrain to avoid- steep, upper elevation, north facing slopes above treeline where fresh wind drifts are sensitive to the weight of a rider and there's an isolated possibility of human triggered avalanches breaking to the ground. Remember - it's early season - consequences are often severe for someone getting caught and dragged through rocks and stumps in the thin coverage.

LOW avalanche danger exists on South facing terrain and slopes that were bare prior to the early November storm.

Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
Learn how to read the forecast here
Weather and Snow

Skies are partly cloudy this morning and temperatures remained above freezing all night, just dipping into the mid 30's. Southerly winds were a nuisance yesterday and they continued to blow all night in the 30's and 40's with gusts in the low 60's along the high peaks. The weekend storm snow has settled to about 8" in depth and despite the overall lack of snow coverage, riding conditions remain quite good, especially on low angle rock free meadows.

Ted Scroggin posted an excellent observation from his travels yesterday. Click here to view.

Other observations can be found here.

Mirror Lake Highway is a mess and plowing is done for the season. Wolf Creek Pass remains open, but don't let the easy access to nearby terrain lull you into a false sense of security. Be prepared for your own self rescue. Wear and know how to use a beacon, shovel, and probe.

Wondering why last winter was so crazy? Click here to watch the 2011-12 Utah Winter Review... an excellent recap of last years conditions.

Recent Avalanches

No recent avalanche activity to report.

Ad
Avalanche Problem #1
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description

The surface snow is dense and warm temperatures yesterday helped glue things in place, but it never ceases to amaze me how the wind can trump all your theories about how much snow is available to transport. One thing for sure... the Uinta's is a windy place and when the wind blows we see avalanches. Given the thin snow cover and all the obstacles barely hidden under this thin facade of snow, triggering even a small slide could have body beating consequences. Best to avoid any steep, wind loaded slope facing the north half of the compass.

Avalanche Problem #2
New Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description

The late October snow near the ground is growing weak and sugary, but our recent bout with warm temperatures is helping to slow down the faceting process. In other words... given the overall depth of our snow, we've seen a lot worse snowpack structure in past years. It's not green light conditions by any means and human triggered slides breaking into old snow are possible. In addition, the consequences of going for a ride in an avalanche would be miserable. I continue to be suspicious of steep, rocky, upper elevation north facing terrain where triggering a slide could result in a season ending injury.

Additional Information

Warm and windy weather is on tap for today as a strong, but mostly dry cold front slides to the north of Utah. Today we can expect partly cloudy skies, temperatures climbing nto the upper 30's, and southwest winds gusting into the 50's and 60's along the high peaks. We might be able to squeak out a few flurries with this system tonight before warm, dry high pressure builds for latter half of the week. The computer models differ in the long range about a potential storm for the weekend. I will have better details on this system for Saturday's update.

General Announcements

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 call me directly at 801-231-2170, email [email protected], or email by clicking HERE

This is a great time of year to schedule a free avalanche awareness presentation for your group or club. You can contact me at 801-231-2170 or email [email protected]

Donate to your favorite non-profit –The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center. The UAC depends on contributions from users like you to support our work.

The information in this advisory expires 24 hours after the date and time posted, but will be updated by 7:00 AM Saturday November 24th.

Next forecast >