Provo Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Evelyn Lees

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Today...Thursday December 11, 2008 UDOT will be test firing the Pink Pine Ridge Howitzer in the mid-canyon area. Beginning at 10:30 a.m. traffic will be blocked intermittently (5-10 minutes at a time) from the White Pine Trail Head Parking Lot to the entry to the Tanners Camp Ground. This exercise should be completed by 11:30 a.m.


BOTTOM LINE

Danger by aspect and elevation on slopes approaching 35° or steeper.
(click HERE for tomorrow's danger rating)


Danger Rose Tutorial

Provo area mountains:  There are pockets of MODERATE avalanche danger on steep, upper elevation slopes with recent drifts of wind blown snow. It is also possible to trigger a few loose snow sluffs on steep, shady slopes. The avalanche danger is generally LOW on most other snow covered slopes.


CURRENT CONDITIONS

Under mostly clear skies and a full moon, temperatures in the Provo area mountains this morning are in the upper teens to mid 20's at most elevations. The winds are from a westerly direction, and have been slowly decreasing overnight from yesterday's strong speeds.  Speeds at the Provo mountain stations are less than 15 mph, with gusts at the highest peaks around 20 mph.

We have no observations from the Provo area mountains due to the lack of low elevation snow.  However, the upper elevation snow pack is probably similar to that in the SLC and PC mountains.  A shallow snow pack with layers of crusts and weak facets.


RECENT ACTIVITY

Yesterday's avalanche activity from the SLC and PC mountains was minimal, and confined to upper elevation slopes. There were a few reports of small winds drifts being triggered by snow cats in lee terrain and skier triggered sluffs running on top of the crusts along the Park City ridge line. Most travelers found the fresh wind drifts to be stubborn or nonreactive, but wisely weren't testing them on big, steep slopes.  I would suspect conditions are similar in the Provo area mountains.


THREAT #1

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

Yesterday's winds drifted the snow at the higher elevations, and I would suspect it will be possible to trigger a few stubborn drifts today in the upper elevations of the Provo area mountains.  If you're out and about today, where there is snow, there are facets.  Hand pits will quickly identify the upper weak layers in the snow, and I'd go for quantity today, to get a feel for how fast the layering changes over short distances. This variation will create difficultly in stability analysis with the upcoming storm. Also, today will be one more good chance to check out the snow coverage pattern. Focus on identifying slopes that are mostly bare, as these will be the safest places to recreate if we get the series of storms in the forecast.


MOUNTAIN WEATHER

It will be another stunning day in the mountains, with mostly clear skies this morning, with occasional mid and high level clouds moving through. Temperatures will warm into the mid to upper 30's at 8,000' and the mid 20's at 10,000'. The northwesterly winds will continue to diminish, to less than 10 mph at most mountain locations. The highest peaks will still have gusts into 30's during the day. Increasing clouds tonight, with 1 to 4 inches of snow possible by mid morning Friday as a weak disturbance moves through. A much stronger cold front will occupy us on Saturday, with snowfall persisting into Saturday night in the mountains. A cold and unsettled pattern, with more snow, will continue through much of next week.


GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Bruce Tremper will be giving a free Avalanche Awareness talk tonight at the South Valley Unitarian Church at 7 pm. Check out our events calendar off the HOME page for more details on all the upcoming events.

For the Text Advisory click here.

If you want to get this avalanche advisory e-mailed to you daily click HERE.

 UDOT highway avalanche control work info can be found by calling (801) 975-4838. Our statewide toll free line is 1-888-999-4019 (early morning, option 8).

The UAC depends on contributions from users like you to support our work.  To find out more about how you can support our efforts to continue providing the avalanche forecasting and education that you expect please visit our Friends page.

If you’re getting out and see anything we should know about please let us know.  You can leave a message at (801) 524-5304 or 1-800-662-4140, or email us at uac@utahavalanchecenter.org. (Fax 801-524-6301).

The information in this advisory is from the U.S. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content.  This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.

Bruce Tremper will update this forecast by 7:30 on Friday morning.


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.