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Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon for
Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Terrain to avoid- Steep, rocky, upper elevation slopes where human triggered avalanches breaking near the ground are still possible.

While mostly isolated to above treeline terrain, a MODERATE avalanche danger exists and human triggered avalanches are possible on steep, wind drifted slopes.

LOW avalanche danger is found in wind sheltered terrain.

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Learn how to read the forecast here
Special Announcements

We still have a few slots open. Please join us on Thursday evening, 1/24 and Saturday, 1/26 for a day of learning avalanche and advanced riding skills with Craig & Trent from the Utah Avalanche Center and Dan Gardiner and the Boondockers crew. Details and sign up here

Weather and Snow

Skies are clear, winds light and southerly, and temperatures are in the upper teens and low 20's. Strong winds last week, recent warm temperatures, and yesterday's rime event have transformed the riding conditions from hero to zero. Probably best to get some projects done the next few days so you're good to go for the upcoming storm.

Recent observations can be found here.

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 new avalanche activity to report.

While not an issue right now, yesterday's rime event preserved weak surface snow and may set us up for some tricky avalanche conditions in the future. Check out Ted's outstanding observation explaining the setup.

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Avalanche Problem #1
New Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description

You'd have to go out of your way to trigger an avalanche that breaks into old snow near ground today. However, if your travels take you into steep, complex terrain today, stop for a moment and carefully assess the snowpack and think about the consequences of triggering an avalanche.

Avalanche Problem #2
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description

Yesterday's North and Northwest winds gusted into the 30's and 40's, finding enough snow to blow around and form shallow, yet stubborn drifts along the leeward side of upper elevation ridges. Later today, southerly winds will ramp up and load the north half of the compass. While not particularly deep or tricky, once triggered, even a shallow slab could knock you off your skis or board and could ruin your day especially if you were in radical, high consequence terrain. Probably best to think about avoiding fat looking, rounded pillows of snow, especially those sounding hollow like a drum.

Additional Information

Today should be sunny and warm with highs reaching into the upper 30's. A southwesterly flow strengthens tonight and tomorrow ahead of a prolonged period of cold, wet weather that should linger into the weekend. Southwest winds increase late this afternoon, gusting into the 50's, nuking into the 70's on Thursday. A very cold storm reaches the region late Thursday and snow totals look promising.... probably in the 18" range by early Saturday.

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 is from the US Forest Service which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.

The information in this advisory expires 24 hours after the date and time posted, but will be updated by 7:00 AM Saturday January 12th.

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