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Forecast for the Salt Lake Area Mountains

Mark Staples
Issued by Mark Staples on
Thursday morning, March 18, 2021
Today the avalanche danger is LOW and avalanches are unlikely. HOWEVER, conditions can change quickly in the spring. Watch for any sudden change in the snowpack especially if it seems to rapidly become very wet and unsupportable. This sudden change means that the likelihood of wet avalanches is increasing.
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Weather and Snow
Yesterday's high temperatures reached the low to mid 30s F. Clouds began building yesterday afternoon and produced a trace to 1 inch of wet snow.
This morning, temperatures are in the mid to upper 20s F. Southerly winds are blowing 10 mph with some stronger winds on the backside of the Wasatch Mountains near Park City gusting up to 20 mph.
Today mid and upper level clouds will provide some shading from the strong spring sunshine. Temperatures will warm again above freezing with some places getting into the low 40s F. Winds will continue from the south and be light in most areas. No rain or snow is expected like we have seen the last two days during the afternoon build-up of clouds. Looking ahead, Friday should have very warm weather ahead of a cold front arriving Friday night and bringing decent snowfall on Saturday.
The snow has been through several melt freeze cycles. It should have refrozen last night and will likely soften quickly today.
Recent Avalanches
No avalanches were reported yesterday.

Find all observations and reported avalanches HERE.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Normal Caution
Type
Location
Likelihood
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Description
Spring weather changes quickly and so can avalanche conditions. This morning the snow is refrozen in many places and will soften and melt quickly as the day heats up. Because it has been through several cycles of melting and refreezing, there should be minimal loose wet snow avalanches today. There is some dry snow remaining on steep north facing slopes at mid and upper elevations; however, many upper elevation slopes were affected by strong winds last weekend. In these places there is small chance you could trigger a slab of wind drifted snow.
Heads up: The top layer of snow should be refrozen this morning, but there may be snow up to a foot deep that remains warm and wet. Watch out today if snow conditions seem to change drastically in a short time. If the snow suddenly becomes a lot less supportable, there's a good chance wet avalanches can start happening. UAC Intern McKinley Talty found very wet snow near an ice crust in the middle of the snowpack at 8,025 feet near Box Elder Peak yesterday.
Usually when the snow becomes so wet that riding conditions have deteriorated, its a sign that the likelihood of wet avalanche is increasing. At that point, it's time to either go home or go to aspects where the snow isn't as wet.
Additional Information
General Announcements
Please visit this website with information about Responsible Winter Recreation by the Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation.

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.