Huge thanks and a big shout out to two leaders in the industry... (nope I'm not talking about Mark and I :)
More importantly- for the past 15 seasons, Tri-City Performance and Polaris have provided loaner sleds to the UAC and this year was no different. This partnership enables us to perform our field days, get into the same kind of terrain and see the same type of snow our customers are riding, and continue delivering the high caliber forecasts you've come to expect from the Avalanche Center. Bottom line... this partnership helps save lives and for that we are grateful!
Nowcast-
The big weekend storm is now in Kansas, but it was good while it camped out in the land of Zion, delivering up to 18" of snow in our high country. Warm, high pressure strengthens over the region today and current temperatures reflect this trend. As a matter of fact, most remote weather stations register in the mid to upper 30's, about 10 degrees warmer than at this time yesterday morning. Along the high ridges, west and southwest winds blow in the 20's and 30's. With total snow depths hovering right around two feet, there's just enough snow to move around on, however it's still pretty boney out there.
Futurecast-
It'll be sunny and hot today with highs nearing 50 degrees. This warming trend is accompanied by increasing southwest winds on Tuesday into Tuesday night ahead of a trough which brings gradual cooling, continued strong winds, and a few flakes for Wednesday. An active pattern remains on tap for the end of the work week with the potential for a decent storm by the weekend.
Looking for real-time temps, snow, or wind?
Click
here and then on the "western Uinta" tab for western Uinta specific, weather station network.
Michael J stomped around yesterday and was able to get the fat, wind loaded pocket in the image above to crack out under his additional weight. I bet today's drifts won't be quite as sensitive, but none-the-less... steep, leeward, upper elevation, wind drifted slopes are just the place where you could trigger a slide today. And remember- even a small slide has the potential to instantly ruin your season if you slam into a rock, or stump, or get raked through deadfall.
To view trip reports and recent avalanche activity, simply click
here.
