Forecast: Salt Lake Area Mountains - Utah Avalanche Center

Forecast for the Salt Lake Area Mountains

Issued by Dave Kelly on
Tuesday morning, February 27, 2024

Today, there is a CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger on upper-elevation slopes where you are likely to trigger wind-drifted snow avalanches near ridgelines and terrain features; and at mid elevations facing east and southeast where you may trigger a persistent weak layer avalanche that breaks on facets above a crust 2'-3' deep.

The avalanche danger is MODERATE on other mid-elevation slopes and LOW at the lowest elevations.

Strong overnight winds created fresh wind-drifts at upper elevations and new snow may be covering them. These wind-drifts may break above you 1'-3' deep; and can be avoided by choosing terrain out of the wind zone.

Low

Moderate

Considerable

High

Extreme

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Weather and Snow

This morning, under overcast skies trailhead temperatures are in the mid teen's °F and ridgetop temperatures are in the low single digits °F. Winds are blowing from the west-northwest 10 gusting to 25 MPH at mid-elevations, and west-northwest 30 gusting to 50 MPH at 11,000' with a max overnight gust of 83 MPH. Wind chills are well below 0 °F. There was 5"-12" of storm snow overnight with .40"-.65" of water.

Today, we can expect cloudy skies, winds blowing from the northwest 25 gusting to 35 MPH at the 9,000' ridgelines and 40 gusting to 55 MPH at the 11,000' ridgelines. Temperatures should be 13°- 16°F. Areas favored by northwest flow could see 3"-8" of additional snow and .25"-.45" of water today. Snow should taper off with clearing skies by later this evening.

Our Partners at the National Weather Service have issued a Winter Storm Warning effective until 5PM this evening with 10"-20" of total snow expected and gusty winds at higher elevations. Read more HERE.

Recent Avalanches

Yesterday, there was a close call with a group of 4 skiers involved in a wind-drifted snow avalanche on Little Water Peak. We will update this report with more details as we gather information. We received a few observations noting wind-transported snow at the highest ridgelines, wet loose at low elevations, and reports of snow surfaces that were not as weak as expected from further south in the Wasatch.

Check out all recent observations HERE.

Type

Location

Likelihood

Size

Description

Underneath the newest snow you will find stubborn slabs of wind-drifted snow on upper-elevation slopes and terrain features. These drifts could be 1'-3' deep and break up to 150' wide. Watch for and avoid signs of wind-drifted snow; such as pillow-shaped deposits and rounded smooth areas of snow. Cracking in new wind-drifted snow is a sign that things are unstable and steeper slopes should be avoided.

Cornices are signs of wind loading leeward features. Any cornice failure could trigger an avalanche on the slope below and today I would give these new cornices some space as they may break further back from the ridgelines than you expect.

In some areas we did see weak surface snow prior to yesterday's wind event on steep northerly facing terrain. There will be isolated areas out of the wind zone where the new snow will not have bonded particularly well. Have an escape plan if loose surface snow picks up more speed as it can be more than enough mass to carry you off your feet. Any new wind-drifted snow on weak surface snow will be perched precariously waiting for an additional load before it cascades downslope. This could be more wind, snow, or a human trigger.

Type

Location

Likelihood

Size

Description

On east-southeast facing slopes at high and mid elevations there is a persistent weak layer (PWL) of facets just above a crust that was buried by new snow on or around February 14. Warm weather and clear skies over the last three days have decreased the likelihood of triggering an avalanche on this layer, and the facets will continue to heal. This problem is not on every slope and each slope facing east-southeast should be assessed individually before committing to terrain over 30° in steepness. New snow and wind on top of this layer may make it more likely to fail and any avalanches on this layer will be 2'-3' deep and a couple 100' wide.

We have been working on shrinking this problem as it appears to be primarily isolated to southeast through east-facing aspects.

Photo (UDOT Provo) of an avalanche that likely failed on this PWL on an east facing slope in the Snake Creek Drainage.

Additional Information

Reports of glide avalanches in Broads Fork continue to roll in. These large unpredictable avalanches are now part of our story and will be with us until the snow is all melted.

General Announcements

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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.

Observations and Avalanches

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