Introduction: Good
morning! This is Evan Stevens with the
USFS Manti-La Sal Avalanche Center with your avalanche and mountain weather
advisory. Today is Sunday, March 20th,
2005 at 7:30 am. This bulletin is
sponsored in part by Poison
Spider, Moab’s finest bike shop, proud sponsors of the Friends of the
Manti-La Sal Avalanche Center. This
advisory will expire in 24 hours.
To see past advisories check out the ARCHIVE. To see current conditions go to our WEATHER PAGE. To see photos go to the AVIPHOTOS page.
General Conditions:
As the calendar prepares to change over to spring, winter is
having its last gasp. 2-4” of new snow
overnight, and more during the day today will help out the conditions
dramatically. Winds and the old
hammered snow surface will mean that staying on true north facing slopes that
are sheltered from the weather will give you the best skiing and riding out
there, especially with poor visibility today.
Expect some new snow up on the road, so bring a 4WD vehicle.
Current Conditions: (click location for latest data)
Geyser
Pass Trailhead (9,600’): 41” at the
SNOTEL, it is 27 degrees at the TH at 6:00 am.,
Pre-Laurel
Peak (11,700’): still trying to fix it!
Gold Basin and South Mountain:
75”-85”” of settled snow on the ground.
Mountain Weather: (At 10,500’)
Another
few inches of snow is expected today…
Today:
Periods of snow
showers. High near 31. Windy, with a west wind between 20 and 30 mph. Chance of
precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible.
Tonight: A 40 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around
18. North northwest wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.
Monday: A 30 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 31.
North northwest wind around 15 mph.
Avalanche Conditions:
Finally some new snow in
the picture, but it is not enough to change the avalanche conditions very
dramatically. What it will do for now
is hide the areas of old hard slab at and above treeline with some nice new
snow, making it a little trickier for the winter traveler to see what the
snowpack is like today. The other main
concern is that the winds have been blowing pretty hard overnight and will
continue to do so today with average speeds in the 20-30 mph range from the SW,
shifting more toward the W as the day wears on. With new snow to transport you can expect shallow and sensitive
soft slabs to be out there and growing as the day goes on. What this all adds up to is a MODERATE danger on wind loaded slopes steeper than 30-35
degrees at and above treeline. Remember
that the winds have put down some hard slabs in some funky spots, so don’t let
the new blanket of snow fool you.
Everywhere else the avalanche danger is LOW.
Remember that a MODERATE avalanche danger means human triggered avalanches are
possible.