Moab Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Max Forgensi

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

The following statement is a general advisory for the St. Patrick's Day Weekend.

The mountains of southeast Utah is currently entering spring time conditions, but the forecast calls for a snow storm to start affecting our region Saturday afternoon. Strong winds and warm temperatures preceding this event will continue to erode our base and potentially not refreeze the snow pack in elevations below 10,000'.

Southerly aspects are very thin, especially where past winds have scoured slopes and ridges and the past week of sun has continued the damage.

A rule of thumb for all of you back country enthusiasts: start early and end early and check the Snotel sites in the mountains to ensure the temperatures dropped below freezing.

If you are heading to the back country, send an observation please! The more eyes out there, the better informed all of us can be.

CURRENT CONDITIONS

Reports are still filtering in of corn skiing below 11,000'. Also, the roads to the trail heads are starting to get muddy and sloppy. 4WD is recommended.


THREAT #1
WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
No trend identified.

Warm temperatures are the culprit of wet point releases (in the form of roller balls) and the potential of wet slab avalanches.


MOUNTAIN WEATHER

@ 10,000' in the La Sal Mountains, Utah Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 52. Breezy, with a south southwest wind 10 to 15 mph increasing to between 20 and 25 mph. Winds could gust as high as 35 mph. Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 37. Breezy, with a south southwest wind between 15 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph. Saturday: A slight chance of rain and snow after noon. Areas of blowing dust after noon. Partly sunny, with a high near 60. Very windy, with a south southwest wind 25 to 30 mph increasing to between 35 and 40 mph. Winds could gust as high as 60 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Saturday Night: Rain and snow likely, becoming all snow after midnight. Areas of blowing dust before midnight. Cloudy, with a low around 28. Windy, with a south southwest wind around 35 mph, with gusts as high as 55 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Sunday: Snow showers. Some thunder is also possible. High near 29. Windy. Chance of precipitation is 90%.


This information does not apply to developed ski areas or highways where avalanche control is normally done.  This advisory is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.

This advisory provided by the USDA Forest Service, in partnership with:

The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center, Utah Division of State Parks and Recreation, Utah Division of Emergency Management, Salt Lake County, Salt Lake Unified Fire Authority and the friends of the La Sal Avalanche Center. See our Sponsors Page for a complete list.