Greg Gagne
Forecaster
Our Week in Review highlights significant snowfall, weather, and avalanche events of the prior week. (Review the archived forecasts for the Salt Lake mountains.)
The danger roses for the Salt Lake mountains from Friday, February 25 through Thursday, March 3:
Summary: Clear and dry with very warm temperatures by midweek. Several avalanches on northerly aspects, failing 1-2' down into old faceted snow that formed during the January/February drought.
Friday, February 25: 1-4" of cold, dry snow is squeezed out of the remnants of a storm system. Several human-triggered avalanches are reported from the backcountry, all failing down 6-24" deep in the layer of facets from the January/February dry spell. A few of the notable avalanches:
- Neffs Canyon 2' deep 100' wide. (Photo below)
- Mount Aire 6" deep 80' wide
Saturday, February 26: Cold and clear skies. A party is caught and carried in a natural avalanche while ascending Tanners Gulch. The avalanche was a sluff that originated several hundred feet above the party, with two getting caught and carried, including a partial burial. A handful of smaller avalanches pulling out shallow pockets of soft slabs 12-18" deep and up to 30' wide are reported.
Sunday, February 27: Skies cloud up by midday minimizing any wet avalanche activity.
Monday, February 28: Clear skies and the beginning of a warming trend. Some minor, wet-loose avalanche activity is reported as well as a soft slab avalanche failing on the January/February faceted layer in Porter Fork in Millcreek Canyon.
Tuesday, March 1: A human-triggered avalanche in Yellow Jacket Gulch on Gobblers Knob that failed in faceted snow from January/February. The avalanche was over a foot deep and 50' wide, running down into dense Aspen trees.
Wednesday, March 2: Increasingly warm temperatures with additional minor, wet-loose avalanches reported. A human-triggered avalanche on a northerly aspect on Little Water Peak, failing down on the January/February facets, 10" deep and 80' wide.
Thursday, March 3: Temperatures overnight fail to drop below freezing. Minor wet loose avalanches, including northerly-facing slopes at lower-elevations.