Provo Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Brett Kobernik

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 will be on the rise today and we may see pockets of a Level 3 (CONSIDERABLE) danger with continued winds and additional snow by late this afternoon. North through south aspects will be the most dangerous but watch for cross loaded terrain features on all aspects. If you want to stay out of avalanches stay out of wind loaded terrain today. Out of wind effected terrain the danger is Level 1 (LOW) but may rise to Level 2 (MODERATE) with the frontal passage late today.


CURRENT CONDITIONS

A trace to a couple of inches of medium density snow fell overnight. Ridgetop temperatures are in the upper teens to low 20s. The winds picked up and are gusting to near 80 at the most exposed locations with some moderate to strong gusts along the mid elevation ridges.


RECENT ACTIVITY

I have a couple of human triggered avalanches to report from Sunday. One was in Snake Creek (DETAILS) triggered by a snowboarder who avoided the small 5 inch by 25 foot wide wind slab. Another was off south facing Wolverine Peak (DETAILS) where it appears someone may have taken a short ride after a slab broke out 6 to 18 inches deep and about 100 feet wide running a couple hundred feet. This slide was interesting in that it failed on facets above the January rain crust taking out last weeks sun crust. Yet another avalanche was reported that occurred on Saturday where a skier was caught, carried and injured on Mt Aire (DETAILS) during the wind event that was transporting snow.


THREAT #1

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

The winds are going to be the major contributor to any avalanches today. You may find fresh drifts that are sensitive breaking in yesterday’s low density snow that was on the surface. Slope cuts and quick stability tests should reveal the sensitivity of the fresh drifts. A bigger concern is areas where the wind transports enough new snow to overload buried persistent weak layers. There are a variety of combinations of weak layers and crusts out there. Probably the most active will be buried near surface facets which is above the January rain crust. These have formed on many aspects but avalanches will be most likely on North through east through south facing slopes over 35 degrees in steepness. You can mitigate this hazard somewhat by diligently digging down and looking for the buried facets and performing some shear tests on those layers.


THREAT #2

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

An even more dangerous situation is something breaking below the January rain crust. I suspect that this snow and wind event won’t be enough to produce widespread activity on this layer but we can’t dismiss it. We must acknowledge that it may fail with each additional load until we have a large enough snow load that doesn’t produce avalanches on this layer. Continue to pay attention to the rain crust thickness being suspect of areas where it’s thin with pronounced weakness below it.


MOUNTAIN WEATHER

Light snow accumulation in warm air advection is still possible but should taper off later this morning. Westerly winds will continued in the moderate to strong category and ridgetop temperatures will be in the mid to upper 20s. A cold front will pass late this afternoon and produce a quick period of snow with another 6 inches or so possible. Winds will shift more northerly behind the front and temperatures drop into the single digits overnight. We may see a few lingering flurries on Tuesday with continued cold temperatures and lighter northerly winds.


GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

If you trigger an avalanche in the backcountry - especially if you are adjacent to a ski area – please call the following teams to alert them to the slide and whether anyone is missing or not. Rescue teams can be exposed to significant hazard when responding to avalanches, and do not want to do so when unneeded. Thanks.

Salt Lake – Alta Central (801-742-2033)

Ogden – Snowbasin Patrol Dispatch (801-620-1017)

Provo – Sundance Patrol Dispatch (801-223-4150)

Discount Lift tickets: Ski Utah, Backcountry.com, Alta, Deer Valley, Park City, The Canyons, Wolf Mountain, Snowbasin, Beaver Mountain, Brighton, Sundance, and Solitude have donated a limited number of tickets for sale.

Wasatch Powderbird Guides flight plan.

Dawn Patrol Forecast Hotline, updated by 05:30: 888-999-4019 option 8.

Daily observations are frequently posted by 10 pm each evening.

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UDOT canyon closures UDOT at (801) 975-4838

You have the opportunity to participate in the creation of our own community avalanche advisory by submitting avalanche and snow observations. You can also call us at 801-524-5304 or 800-662-4140, or email by clicking HERE

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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.

We will update this forecast tomorrow morning. Thanks for calling.


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.