Provo Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Evelyn Lees

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

The Avalanche Danger Scale is being revised for next winter. Our friends up in Canada have created a short survey found at the following link. Please help ensure the new Avalanche Danger Scale is effective by completing a survey. http://surveys.globalepanel.com/wix/p319164581.aspx


BOTTOM LINE

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


Danger Rose Tutorial

The avalanche danger is mostly LOW today with pockets of MODERATE danger on steep shady slopes for the possibility of triggering loose sluffs and isolated very shallow soft slabs. As the day heats up, the danger on steep sunny slopes will increase to include pockets of MODERATE for damp sluffs. As always, if the winds unexpectedly blow harder than forecast, avoid any fresh drifts on steep slopes.


CURRENT CONDITIONS

Under mostly clear skies, temperatures in the Provo mountains are in the single digits to low teens and the light, northerly winds averaging less than 10 mph. Yesterday’s storm showed how unproductive it is to be disorganized, dropping only an inch or two of snow. But, added to Thursday’s storm totals of 3 to 8 inches, turning and riding conditions are improved on the shady slopes, though you will be scraping bottom at times, especially at the mid elevations and on the steeper slopes. Many of the sunny slopes got crusted on Thursday. Be aware that beneath the new snow are patches of very hard, icy crusts on all aspects, and on steep slopes a slide for life is a dangerous possibility, whether on snowshoes, skies or a board.


RECENT ACTIVITY

Avalanche activity in the backcountry and at the resorts yesterday was limited to new snow sluffs and a few soft slabs on shady mid and upper elevation slopes. Sensitive cornices were reported from the Ogden area mountains. Slope angles of about 40 degrees or steeper were needed for the sluffs or slabs to really get moving. Two backcountry slabs triggered in the Salt Lake mountians, were 6” to 10” deep, on NW and NE facing slopes above 10,000 feet, with the largest about 60 feet wide.


THREAT #1

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

Today, you’ll still be able to trigger sluffs on steep shady slopes, and a few shallow, soft slabs, mostly along the upper elevation ridges. While mostly manageable, the existence in many locations of a slippery icy crust beneath the recent snow gives any slide a bit more of a punch and makes it easier to be knocked off your feet and sent for a ride.


THREAT #2

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 10 hours.

The strong spring sun will quickly heat the surface snow, and it will become very easy to trigger shallow, wet loose sluffs on steep sunny slopes. Again, in continuously steep terrain, some of these sluffs could run fast and far on the icy crusts beneath.


MOUNTAIN WEATHER

High pressure will bring mostly sunny skies to the mountains today, with temperatures warming to near 10 at 10,000' and into the low 20s at 8,000’. The winds will shift to the northwest, but should remain light, averaging less than 15 mph. On Sunday, the southwesterly winds will increase and temperatures warm ahead of Monday’s cold front. Then high pressure will dominate into next weekend.


GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Wasatch Powderbird Guides did not fly Friday. Today, WPG will use two helicopters in the Tri-Canyon area. One helicopter will be in Mill Creek, other in Mineral, Cardiff, Days, Silver, Grizzly, White Pine, and possibly American Fork. Their operations planning page is here.

Beacon training parks are up and running! There is one at Snowbasin, one on the Park City side at the top of Canyon’s gondola toward the Tombstone lift, one in Little Cottonwood near the Snowbird parking structure on the bypass road, and in Big Cottonwood a training park is at the west end of Solitude's lower parking lot.

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

For a text only version, the link is on the left side bar, near the top.

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 visitour Friends page.

Your snow and avalanche observations can save someone’s life. Please let us know what you're seeing by leaving 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.

Brett Kobernik will update this advisory by 7:30 tomorrow 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.