Provo Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Drew Hardesty

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

I've issued a Special Avalanche Advisory for the mountains of Central and Southern Utah. Heavy snowfall with this storm system has created dangerous avalanche conditions in the mountains adjacent to and south of I-70.

The Logan office of the Utah Avalanche Center still has a few spots left in their Avalanche Advanced Skills class this Thursday evening and Saturday. For more info, email toby@utahavalanchecenter.org.

We'll be hosting a free Avalanche Awareness class at Black Diamond tomorrow night at 7pm.

BOTTOM LINE

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


Danger Rose Tutorial

We have a MODERATE danger for human triggered slides up to 16" or so on steep mid to upper elevation slopes on a variety of aspects. Isolated Pockets of Considerable danger remains for triggering a deep slab release. These will be most pronounced on west to north to easterly facing terrain.

CURRENT CONDITIONS

Skies are mostly cloudy this morning in the wake of what turned out to be a pretty good producer for the central and southern Wasatch. The most favored terrain picked up 12-18" with little to no wind. Yes you read that correctly. Temps are in the teens. Winds remain light.

RECENT ACTIVITY

Avalanche activity spiked with the new load on Sunday, though the weak interfaces within and beneath the storm snow remained sensitive yesterday with provocation. Absent winds, shallow (<12") soft slab activity was reported on a variety of aspects and elevations.. Sluffing was also reported to be widespread, though decreasing with settlement through the afternoon.

THREAT #1
WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

Our deep slab structure is undeniable. Probability remains low...consequences severe. Trigger spots are more likely in thinner, rockier terrain or in areas that have previously run. Deep slabs may pull out above and adjacent to you...even onto lower slope angles. Our last deep slab releases occurred on the 3rd and 4th of this month, in upper Mineral of BCC and Mary Ellen of American Fork, respectively.

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

Not yet ready to write off the instability within the new snow. Luck favored the storm with little wind, though the new snow may be completely slow to stabilize upon the 1st week of February's patches of surface hoar and weak recrystallized surface snow. The weaknesses are more widespread than usual - even the southerly aspects hold some degree of these faceted grains. Remember - remote triggers remain a distinct possibility - they may break well above you.

MOUNTAIN WEATHER

We'll have mostly cloudy skies with a few showers expected during the day. Winds are expected to remain light. Temps will be in the upper teens. Another splitting system arrives tomorrow, though we can expect little from it. The next decent chance for snow looks to be late weekend.

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)

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

Twitter Updates for your mobile phone http://utahavalanchecenter.org/twitter)

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

Wasatch Powderbird Guides does daily updates about where they'll be operating on this blog http://powderbird.blogspot.com/ .

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.

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.