US Forest Service Manti-La Sal National Forest

Introduction:  Good morning!  This is Dave Medara with the USFS Manti-La Sal Avalanche Center with your avalanche and mountain weather advisory.  Today is Friday, December 31st at 8:30 am. This advisory will expire in 24 hours.

 

WE ARE STARTING TO FILL UP OUR AIARE LEVEL 1 AND LEVEL 2 CLASSES BEING HELD IN THE LA SALS THIS YEAR.  THE LEVEL 1 IS FEBRUARY 3RD-5TH (FRI-SUN), WHILE OUR LEVEL 2 IS MARCH 3RD-6TH  (FRI-MON).  CALL (435) 636-3363 FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO SIGN UP.  EACH CLASS IS LIMITED TO 12 STUDENTS.  TUITION GOES DIRECTLY TOWARDS THE FRIENDS OF THE MANTI-LA SAL AVALANCHE CENTER.

 

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:

Eastern Utah is in a good flow for some precipitation for the next five days with the best chance of moisture coming tonight.  We’ve had 2-4” of new snow over the last two days (2” last night) so the snowpack is improving, but it’s still pretty rugged out there in the forests of the La Sals. The ground cover is still dangerously thin. The snow on the ground did get to move around a bit, so read on to the Avalanche Conditions to find out more. 

The Road to Geyser pass was plowed as of Thursday but expect the snow from last night to muck that up a bit. 4WD and chains recommended. There is a nicely packed base on the Geyser Pass trail so Classic Nordic skiing is excellent on the road, and the “powder skating“ won’t be bad either.

           

Current Conditions: (click location for latest data)

Geyser Pass Trailhead (9,600’):  9.6” at the SNOTEL.  16” at the GPTH Snowstake, 3” in the past 48 hours. 22 degrees at the Geyser Pass trailhead at 7:00 a.m.  22 degrees in Moab.

Gold Basin and South Mountain:  At least 23” of settled snow on the ground.

Pre-Laurel Peak Weather Station (11,705’):  Still Struggling with the weather station. Had contact, lost contact. The drama continues with new hardware.

 

Mountain Weather: (At 10,500’)

Today: Areas of snow. Cloudy, with a high near 33. Windy, with a west southwest wind between 20 and 30 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.
Tonight: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a low around 22. Windy, with a west southwest wind between 25 and 35 mph, with gusts as high as 45 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible.
New Year’s Day: Snow likely, mainly after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high around 29. Windy, with a west northwest wind 30 to 35 mph decreasing to between 15 and 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.

Avalanche Conditions: (Link to the International Avalanche Danger Scale here)

Continuing winds out of the south and southwest will continue to load our N-NE-NW facing slopes keeping them as our biggest concern avalanche wise in the La Sal Mountains. Sun crusts on SE-SW-W facing slopes will keep the avalanche hazard low on these aspects until more snow piles up (hopefully) with the snowfall forecast for the next several days. Be careful if you venture out onto or under, any E-NE-NW slopes steeper than 35 degrees. This is where you will find the majority of the snow that has fallen in the last 48 hours with the weakest snowpack underneath. If the weather forecast plays out as advertised, expect the avalanche hazard to rise accordingly!

The BOTTOM LINE for today is going to be an avalanche danger of MODERATE on steep N-NE-E aspects at or above tree-line.  The rest of the range is going to be LOW.