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Observation: Butler Trees

Observation Date
1/1/2020
Observer Name
SZW/Hargrave
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Butler Fork » Butler Trees
Location Name or Route
Butler Trees
Red Flags
Red Flags
Wind Loading
Cracking
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Wind Drifted Snow
Trend
Increasing Danger
Problem #1 Comments
Winds were calm in our zone and we purposely choose this area to be out of the rising hazard. That being said, the winds were drifting snow in isolated terrain features in the Butler Trees and Circle All Peak. It was definitely easy to understand how the new higher density snow was going to be an issue since it fell on low density snow and was being drifted into immature soft slabs at our elevation.
Comments
The storm came and went and came and went. Interesting to observe the micro climate in the Butler Fork area. Mostly cloudy from 9am-12pm with in and out visibility of Raymond and Gobblers. The snow never really turned on for more than 15-20 minutes at a time and the winds were Light out of the west. The ski quality was fair to good in most areas we visited. Some cracking was observed in the isolated features where wind was lightly drifting snow.
We appeared to be in the shadow of Raymond and it was really quite pleasant. A much different story than the reports from the PC ridgeline and elsewhere. Seems like the danger today reached considerable by mid afternoon in other areas, but it was moderate in our zone. If forecast verifies over next 24 hours, I wouldn't rule out a high danger in the alpine where the wind is doing its work with the high density new snow.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
High
Coordinates