Avalanche Warning
THE FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER IN SALT LAKE CITY HAS ISSUED A BACKCOUNTRY AVALANCHE WARNING.
* TIMING…IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM MST THIS MORNING TO 6 AM MST TUESDAY MORNING
* AFFECTED AREA…FOR THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTHERN UTAH INCLUDING THE BEAR RIVER RANGE, WESTERN UINTAS, AND ALL THE WASATCH RANGE...THE OGDEN, PROVO, SALT LAKE AND PARK CITY AREA MOUNTAINS.
* AVALANCHE DANGER…THE AVALANCHE DANGER FOR THE WARNING AREA IS HIGH TODAY.
* IMPACTS…RECENT SNOW AND WIND HAS CREATED WIDESPREAD AREAS OF UNSTABLE SNOW. BOTH HUMAN TRIGGERED AND NATURAL AVALANCHES ARE LIKELY. STAY OFF OF AND OUT FROM UNDER SLOPES STEEPER THAN 30 DEGREES. AVALANCHES CAN BE TRIGGERED REMOTELY FROM A DISTANCE AND FROM BELOW.
THIS WARNING DOES NOT APPLY TO SKI AREAS WHERE AVALANCHE HAZARD REDUCTION MEASURES ARE PERFORMED.
We're excited to introduce for the 2017/2018 winter the Utah Avalanche Center podcast, hosted by forecaster Drew Hardesty and produced by KUER's Benjamin Bombard. The podcast will include engaging stories, interviews, and lessons learned - all things avalanche to help keep people on top of the snow instead of buried beneath it - and easily found on iTunes, Stitcher, the UAC blog, or wherever you get your podcasts.
A warm storm moved in overnight, and snow is still falling in the mountains. With the warmer temperatures, snow densities are about 8%. Snow totals in the Ogden area mountains are in the 4 to 6” range.
Temperatures are 15 to 20 degrees warmer than they were yesterday morning – in the teens to upper 20s. Many wind sites in the Ogden area mountains are down, but the winds are westerly – anywhere from southwest to northwest, averaging 20 to 25 mph, and gusting into the 30s, at the stations that are working.
With better visibility, there was a lot more evidence of the December 23rd Ogden avalanche cycle, that included lower elevation slopes. Natural avalanches that ran the 23rd were observed on steep, northerly facing backcountry slopes, between 8,000' and 9500', in addition to slides at the lower elevations.
Evidence of an avalanche that ran earlier in the storm in the Ogden area.
Other info: Early morning reports include avalanches 1½ feet deep being triggered by snow cats at 8,500’ in the Salt Lake mountains. Yesterday, avalanche activity included a slide triggered remotely on the Park City ridge line by a backcountry skier, 15” deep and 150 feet wide and numerous slides from explosive control work in the SL and Park City area mountains, both new snow and some breaking into the deeper weak, faceted layers. Several patrollers were caught and carried, and we’re glad to report all uninjured.
