Warm temperatures below tree line and strong winds above tree line are expected in the La Sal and Abajo Mountains for the next couple of days before a winter storm impacts southeast Utah starting on Friday. Winds have been very strong out of the south and southeast on ridge tops and peaks in both ranges.
Gold Basin has 60" of snow on the ground, while the Geyser Pass Winter TH has 39" of snow on the ground where the temperatures stayed above freezing Tuesday night. Camp Jackson has 31" of snow on the ground. The La Sal Mountains are hovering just above normal for snow water equivalent (SWE) for this time a year while the Abajos are 35% below average. Southeast Utah is 21% below average SWE.
San Juan County was able to plow the roads to the trailheads and LUNA needs volunteers. Observations from the 4th of March lean towards the prevalence of sun affected snow in all but the most sheltered locations.
This advisory will be updated on SUNDAY morning. As spring continues to approach, advisories for the the Utah Avalanche Center in Moab will decrease to only two advisories a week due to funding and other duties as assigned.
Please NOWCAST by using our Mountain Weather Page if you are heading out. Also, remember that it is not spring, YET.
For those who would like to take a look at observations posted across the La Sal and Abajo Mountains, click HERE. Thank you to everyone that keeps contributing!
