Provo Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Evelyn Lees

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

The North American Avalanche Danger Scale is being revised for next winter. Our friends 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 generally LOW this morning. With day time heating, the danger will rise to MODERATE on both steep, sunny slopes and low elevation shady slopes, with human triggered wet loose avalanches possible. There are also isolated places where a person could trigger a wind drift or sensitive cornice along upper elevation ridgelines and in open bowls.

CURRENT CONDITIONS

Under clear skies, temperatures are once again in the teens to mid twenties this morning, and the southwesterly winds are very light. Even across the highest peaks, speeds averaged less than 15 mph most of the night. “Loud” or recrystallized powder is much more widespread than one would suspect, with the northerly and northeasterly facing slopes harboring soft snow to mid elevations. Excellent travel conditions exist for just about everyone. The sunny southeast through westerly facing slopes are totally crusted, but should soften today.

RECENT ACTIVITY

No avalanche activity was reported form the backcountry yesterday, though the top few inches of surface snow on the shady slopes are starting to sluff, and cornices remain sensitive, with the potential to break back further than expected.

THREAT #1
WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 10 hours.

Wet avalanche activity may increase slightly today due to warmer temperatures and a few high thin clouds. If the cool, dry snow on the northerly facing slopes finally warms for the first time today, it will be the most sensitive. So as the day and snow heats up, wet loose sluffs are possible on mid and low elevation shady slopes, in addition to the usual steep sunny slopes. With slick old crusts beneath on many aspects, once triggered, any sluff could zip right along.

THREAT #2
WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

As always, approach steep, upper elevation terrain with care – there may be a few isolated places where an old hard, hollow wind drift could be triggered, and the warming temperatures will keep the large cornices sensitive. Use good travel habits - one at a time on steep slopes, use slope cuts, and be aware of consequences where even a small sluff could slide you into trees or off a cliff.

MOUNTAIN WEATHER

Another warm, sunny day is in store for the mountains - temperatures will reach the low 40s at 8,000’ and into the upper 20s at 10,000’. High pressure will gradually shift east this afternoon, with a few high thin clouds drifting across and slightly stronger southwesterly winds. Tonight’s non-event will bring mostly cloudy skies and breezy southwesterly winds, with the best chance for any snow to the north near the Idaho border. While no real storms are in sight, temperatures do look favorable for a corn cycle for next week!

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Wasatch Powderbird Guides flew in Mineral, Cardiff, American Fork and Cascade yesterday. Today they will have two ships in the tri canyons - one in Mineral, Cardiff, Days, Silver and Mill Creek, the other in American Fork and White Pine. Their operations planning page is here.

On Friday, March 20th, the Canyons Professional Ski Patrol Association is having a fund raiser for the Friends of the UAC at Pirate O’s. Doors open at 7 pm, and live music from Junior and Transportation, a silent auction, raffle, and more are included in the $15 cover charge/donation.

Our web site is now formatted for iPhone. You can also download a free iPhone application from Canyon Sports to display the Bottom Line. Search for Utah Avalanche on the Apple's iPhone Apps page or in iTunes.

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).

Donate to your favorite non-profit – The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center. 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.