Forecast: Salt Lake Area Mountains - Utah Avalanche Center

Forecast for the Salt Lake Area Mountains

Issued by Mark Staples on
Monday morning, April 6, 2020

The main issue today will be soft slab avalanches of wind drifted snow at upper elevations. Strong south winds blew yesterday and are continuing today. For this reason, the avalanche danger at upper elevations is MODERATE.

The avalanche danger at mid and low elevations is LOW.

HEADS UP - The avalanche danger could rise if any significant amount of rain occurs. The snow is already damp. Rain would make it loose cohesion and cause loose wet avalanches to occur. These slides may not be large but would be a bigger problem in confined terrain like gullies or creek bottoms.

Low

Moderate

Considerable

High

Extreme

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Weather and Snow

Yesterday's storm overproduced with 5-10 inches of snow (0.5-0.8 inches of water) in the upper Cottonwood Canyons. Strong south winds blew at upper elevations most of the day.

This morning temperatures are near freezing around 9000 feet. Ridgetop winds are blowing 10-20 mph from the south and gusting 25-45 mph. Even at lower elevations, winds are gusty.

Today an area of low pressure off the California coast will be sending moisture and winds from the southwest over Utah. This means strong south winds will continue with warm air temperatures reaching the upper 30s to mid 40s F today. Mostly cloudy skies will bring a trace to 2 inches of snow. ALSO, there could a thunderstorm or two. The rain/snow line should be near 8000 feet.

The new snow became damp yesterday afternoon on all aspects up to about 10,000 feet.

Recent Avalanches

There were seven soft slab avalanches of wind drifted snow reported yesterday as a result of strong south winds. Several parties wisely heeded the warning signs and opted for low angle terrain.

Photo below is from a small test slope near the top of Peak 10,420 in Big Cottonwood Canyon

The next photo is from East Greely Chute at Alta Ski Area which has a backcountry snowpack. This slide was 15 inches deep and about 50 feet wide.

Type

Location

Likelihood

Size

Description

Yesterday's avalanches all occurred at upper elevations on wind loaded slopes. Warm temperatures will help these soft slabs bond today, but continued south winds could keep some of them unstable. More avalanches are possible today that could break up to 2 feet deep.

The good news is that these slopes with wind loaded snow can be identified visually as they look smooth, rounded, and pillow-shaped. This wind loading can occur as top-loading that occurs under ridges and cornices. It can also be cross-loading which is when winds blow across a slope and form soft slabs on one side of it.

CORNICES - Cornices in some places are massive. These monsters are unpredictable especially during warm weather when they start bending downhill. Avoid being under or near the tops of large cornices.

The video below shows yesterday's strong south winds transporting snow uphill on Mt Superior and blowing snow off the top as well.

Type

Location

Likelihood

Size

Description

With above freezing temperatures overnight, the snow at low elevations should be wet this morning and remain wet today. Cloudy skies should keep the snow from getting too wet, and I don't expect any natural avalanches. Small shallow slides of loose wet snow could occur today mostly at low elevations below 8000 feet.

HEADS UP - Watch out if any significant amount of rain falls today which could cause wet loose avalanches to occur.

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This information does not apply to developed ski areas or highways where avalanche control is normally done. This forecast is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This forecast describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.

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