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Good morning, this is Tom
Kimbrough with the
Current Conditions:
Yesterday was the first day
of spring but today will feel like the first day of summer! This morning temperatures are already 10
degrees warmer than at this time yesterday, now in the upper twenties and low
thirties. Winds are light from the
southwest. Snow surfaces are widely
crusted this morning, with a little settled powder on upper elevation north
facing slopes.
Avalanche Conditions:
I went sightseeing around the
Wasatch yesterday, looking at some of the numerous large avalanches that have
cut loose over the past week. It was a
rather sobering trip. Some of the
slides, especially those triggered yesterday by backcountry explosive testing,
are awesome. They would have smashed a
person like a giant fly swatter. On Wednesday
morning, backcountry explosive testing produced several very large
avalanches. The entire upper bowl of
Mineral Fork avalanched, as well as the East Fork of Mineral Fork, Red Baldy in
White Pine Canyon and an 800 foot wide avalanche between Red and White
Baldy. These slides broke at least 4
feet deep, probably down to the January rain crust. The testing team said they broke very wide
and popped right out, indicating that a person could have easily triggered them. Another slide from control work broke into
old snow near Sundance in the
With temperatures getting
into the forties and fifties today, we will see more wet
surface slide activity today, especially on east, south and west facing slopes
as the snow begins to heat up. I am also
worried that today’s warming could make some of the deep weak layers even more
sensitive. Bob Athey,
looking at the Mineral Fork slides from Gobblers yesterday, said he wouldn’t go
near Mill B or
There will be some high
clouds today that may increase the effect of the warm air temperatures on
slopes not receiving direct sun. This
could increase the avalanche danger even on north facing slopes.
Given the increasingly
crusted slopes in the backcountry and the current Russian Roulette
avalanche conditions, I am inclined to go biking until we get more snow or some
corn snow develops. If you are getting
into the backcountry today, avoid slopes steeper than about 35 degrees that
have not recently had deep avalanche activity.
I would also stay out of avalanche run-out areas as the day warms
up. As we start to move into warmer
weather, remember the springtime rules: Get
out early and head home or at least get off of and out from under steep slopes
as the snow starts to get wet and mushy.
Bottom Line:
The danger of triggering a very large and deadly
avalanche is localized or MODERATE this morning but will rise to CONSIDERABLE
as the day begins to warm. The danger
could become HIGH,
with natural avalanches likely, as temperatures soar this afternoon. While slopes receiving direct sun will be the
most active, the danger will increase in all areas as temperatures rise.
(Provo Area
Mountains)
Same as
(
The avalanche danger in the Western Uintas is CONSIDERABLE. Very large and dangerous human triggered and
natural avalanches are possible on steep slopes.
(Ogden Area Mountains)
MODERATE increasing to CONSIDERABLE.
Mountain Weather:
Today will be partly
sunny with variable high clouds. Winds
will be 5 to 15 mph over the ridges from the southwest. High temperatures today will be in the 50’s
at 8,000 feet and near 40 degrees at 10,000.
Weather conditions will be similar on Friday but with increasing
southwest winds in the afternoon. The
weekend looks like a return to stormy weather.
General Information:
Wasatch
Powderbird Guides will be flying in Cardiff, Days and Silver and Mineral Forks
today with a home run in Grizzly Gulch.
For more information call 521-6040 ext. 5280.
To
report backcountry snow and avalanche conditions, especially if you observe or
trigger an avalanche, you can leave a message at (801) 524-5304 or
1-800-662-4140. Or you can e-mail an
observation to [email protected], or you can fax an observation to
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.
I
will update this advisory by
Thanks for calling!
________________________________________________________________________
For
more detailed weather information go to our Mountain Weather Advisory
National
Weather Service - Salt Lake City - Snow.
For an explanation of
avalanche danger ratings: