March Kicks Off Our Spring Campaign- Donate Now to Support Forecasting
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 Observations Explorer All Observations Avalanches Fatalities Weather Place Names Map Archives
Education
Avalanche Class List UAC Class List Online Classes Resources and Tutorials Avalanche Awareness Develop Skills
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 on
Thursday morning, March 5, 2020
Today's avalanche hazard is pretty straightforward and easily managed with terrain choices-
While the avalanche danger is generally LOW across the range, there are isolated places where you could trigger an old wind drift, especially in steep, rocky terrain above treeline in the wind zone. And here's something to consider... if you're getting into steep, technical terrain, even a small slide can knock you off your ride, slam you into a tree, and throw a curve ball at your day.
In addition, low elevation, sunny slopes may take on some heat today and become damp, so you'll want to get off steep sun-baked snow as the day heats up.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
Learn how to read the forecast here
Special Announcements
The UAC's Avy Awareness Auction is currently underway with tons of great gear, jewelry, artwork and experiences available. Visit the auction page here to help support the UAC's spring avalanche awareness and outreach efforts.
Click here for more details.
And... a new version of the UAC IOS application is now available on the Apple App Store. This version fixes many of the issues that occur when running IOS 13.
Click here for more details.
Weather and Snow
Currently-
Under a big, bright, beautiful moon, skies are clear and temperatures register in the mid 20's. West and southwest winds bumped into the 20's and 30's right after dinnertime last night and continued blowing at a steady clip throughout the night along the high ridges. Sunday's shallow dose of fresh, white paint greatly improved riding conditions, though it's still a bit scratchy underfoot and low angle slopes are the ticket.
Above is a 24 hour data run from Windy Peak (10,662') illustrating a bump in winds late last night.
More Uinta weather network info is found here. Simply click on the Western Uinta tab.
For today-
High pressure overhead produces mostly sunny skies, temperatures soaring into the mid 40's, and west-southwest winds ramping up during the day, gusting into the 40's by days end.
Futurecast-
Southwest winds continue ramping up Friday and Saturday and it looks like a change in the weather pattern develops late in the weekend through early next week with the first in a series of storms sliding into the region late Saturday, continuing into Sunday. Not a big storm, but enough for a dense, spongy refresh.
Recent Avalanches
Yesterday, whilst traveling in Upper Chalk Creek, I spotted a few shallow sluffs on very steep slopes facing the north half of the compass. Otherwise no earth-shattering avalanche activity to report.
JG noted.... "The heat was on today. Good day for skin wax. Due north aspects were holding soft snow but all others took on heat and were damp and will be crusted in the morning. Pin wheels, point releases and wet, loose sluffs in steep terrain were common today." More on his insight and sage advice found here.
To view additional trip reports and recent avalanche activity, simply click here.
Ad
Avalanche Problem #1
Normal Caution
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Isolated to steep, leeward terrain in the wind zone, there might be a lingering wind drift or two, or shallow loose snow sluff that'll react to our additional weight. Not particularly widespread, but remember... if you're tagging steep, technical terrain, be aware that even a small slide could knock you off your feet and boss you around. So, the ticket to riding safely today is simply look for and avoid any fat, rounded piece of snow, especially if it sounds hollow like a drum.
Additional Information
Sometimes you're the windshield.... sometimes you're the bug. Stumbled onto this remarkable display of a Golden Eagles hunting skills. Looks like a subtle touchdown, tail drag, and not so pleasant outcome for whatever was on the menu.
General Announcements
The information in this forecast expires in 24 hours, but will be updated by 7:00 AM Friday Mar. 6th.
This forecast is updated daily by 7:00 AM.
In the mean-time, if you see or trigger an avalanche or just wanna let me know what you're seeing you can reach me directly at 801-231-2170
This is a great time of year to schedule one of our free avy awareness presentations.
You can email me directly [email protected]
The information in this forecast is from the US Forest Service which is solely responsible for its content.
< Previous forecast
Next forecast >