Wet, warm, gloppy, gloomy and windy.
Slopes to avoid: 1) upper elevation, steep slopes with recent wind deposits and 2) any steep slope that is getting soggy from rain, which will be mostly below about 9,000'.
Weather and SnowWet, warm, gloomy, gloppy, but hey, at least it's windy. This morning, rain is falling up to about 9,500' with wet snow above. Ridge top winds are blowing 25, gusting to 50 from the southwest. Snow surface conditions include about 4 inches of damp, old snow, soggy snow at elevations below 9,000' and hard wind slabs in upper elevation wind exposed terrain. There is about 2 feet of total snow on most slopes with less than 1 foot on most south facing slopes.
Recent AvalanchesThere was no avalanche activity reported from the backcountry yesterday except for some wet sluffs at lower elevations. The ski resorts in the Salt Lake area mountains were able to trigger a few class 2, stiff, stubborn wind slabs at upper elevations.
The strong winds from the southwest will continue to build wind slabs on downwind slopes in the upper elevation, wind exposed terrain, especially along ridges. These wind slabs will be stiff, hard and stubborn, but if you do break one out, it could be large and dangerous. Many of these are sitting on weak, faceted snow just under the wind slabs. As usual, avoid any steep slopes with recent wind deposits.
Rain should continue to fall at elevations below about 9,500' this morning and lower to around 7,000' by late afternoon. This may cause some wet sluffs and occasional wet slabs where the rain is falling. As usual, stay off of, and out from underneath, steep slopes when the snow is getting soggy from rain.
Finally, as new snow accumulates today and tomorrow, there may be enough additional weight to overload a layer of faceted snow buried about 6 inches deep. Right now, there is not enough weight on that layer to cause much of a problem (except in the aforementioned wind loaded areas). But as the expeced snow accumulates we may see more activity on this layer especially on northerly-facing slopes in wind sheltered areas. This will likely be a larger problem tomorrow rather than today. See my video and snow profile from yesterday for an overview of the current snowpack.
Rain and snow will intensify through the day, especially this afternoon and evening with the rain-snow line starting out this morning around 9,500' and lowering to around 7,000' by tonight. At the highest elevations, we expect 3-6 inches of dense snow this afternoon through Thursday. Ridgetop winds will blow from the southwest 25, gusting to 50.
By Thursday night temperatures should drop to 25 degrees and much colder air will push in for the weekend, dropping mountain temperatures into the single digits.
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), Canyons Resort Dispatch (435-615-3322)
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.
Twitter Updates for your mobile phone
Daily observations are frequently posted by 10 pm each evening.
Subscribe to the daily avalanche advisory e-mail click HERE.
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
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.
This advisory is produced by the U.S. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. It describes only general avalanche conditions and local variations always exist. Specific terrain and route finding decisions should always be based on skills learned in a field-based avalanche class.
