Provo Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Brett Kobernik

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

UAC CLOSING THIS WEEKEND: Sunday will be our last day of issuing advisories for the season as our piggy bank has run dry.

Because we are passionate about the Utah backcountry and avalanches, we will continue to accept and publish observations from backcountry users who submit them. You can find them in the Current Conditions off the main menu. This will be the only source of avalanche information as this weekend marks the end of all official Forest Service avalanche advisories.

We are still collecting feedback from you with our 10 question survey. Please feel free to let us know you’re thoughts. CLICK FOR SURVEY


BOTTOM LINE

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


Danger Rose Tutorial

The potential large size of debris piles from heat initiated activity makes me put the avalanche danger at Level 3 (CONSIDERABLE) for today. I think there’s a 50/50 chance we’ll see a dangerous wet avalanche cycle today. Perhaps a bit better chance on Friday. You need to pay attention to the recent drifts still today along the mid and upper elevation ridges as well, most pronounced on the easterly facing terrain. Continue to avoid all cornices.


CURRENT CONDITIONS

Skies are clearing out and we’ve had a warming trend over the last 24 hours with ridgetop temperatures in the mid to upper 20s. Winds are blowing along the upper ridges pretty good from the west. In the mid elevations they don’t look too bad. There was some rain and just a little snow accumulation on Wednesday. Most people made note of rime that was occurring during the day as well. The rain/snow line was somewhere in the 8000 to 8500 foot range.


THREAT #1

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 10 hours.

The warming trend will be our focus today through Saturday. For me, wet or heat initiated avalanche activity is the hardest to forecast for. Sure, there are some good indicators such as the first time colder snow gets warmed and distinct warming trends. (We have both of those today) But pinning down timing and what layering will be the most active still eludes me a lot of the time. (Example: surface loose snow avalanches vs wet slab avalanches vs deep slabs - that’s right, deep slabs are on our minds!)

Often when we think things are going to come unglued it ends up being a non-event. The weather needs to be just right to produce a natural wet avalanche cycle. Some days when you expect wet activity, a few clouds roll through and keep temperatures just cool enough so it doesn’t happen. Other days when you think cloud cover will keep things cool enough, it “greenhouses” and produces a wet cycle. A slight breeze can be enough to keep things in check when you might think it’s going to let loose. Furthermore, denser snow like we have on the surface now is often not as reactive to heating. But, will the warm temperatures override everything? To tell the truth, we just don’t know exactly how these warming events will unfold. The bottom line is that in the spring when the indicators are there, you need to behave as if wet activity WILL happen always thinking about avoiding the bottoms of avalanche paths and staying out of gullies. Plan your route so that if things start to get bad you have a safe exit.


THREAT #2

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

A second concern is fresh wind drifts. Upper elevation easterly facing terrain is the most likely place to find these. This issue will most likely be quickly dwarfed by the warming temperatures.


THREAT #3

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 10 hours.

Large cornices should be avoided at all costs. They’ve been active over the last few weeks and most likely will become more sensitive with the warming temperatures. With all the recent winds, some of these things are monstrous! These have been the triggers for the larger avalanches recently.


MOUNTAIN WEATHER

We’ll have partly cloudy skies this morning with more clearing possible this afternoon. 700mb temperatures go to 0C today which puts ridgetop temps well into the 30s. Winds will remain fairly strong at the highest elevations but shouldn’t be bad in the mid elevation terrain. We should see a pretty good refreeze tonight which will help keep the wet activity under control to a certain extent for Friday. Temperatures gradually warm more on Friday with clear skies. Saturday will be warm as well but with clouds. A pretty good colder storm is shaping up for Saturday night into Sunday with possibly a foot of snow.


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.

Subscribe to the daily avalanche advisory e-mail click HERE.

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

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.

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.