Wasatch Cache National Forest

In partnership with: The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Forecast Center, Utah Department of Public Safety Division of Comprehensive Emergency Management, Salt Lake County, and Utah State Parks

 

               The Utah Avalanche Center Home page is: http://www.avalanche.org/~uac/

 

Avalanche advisory

Sunday, November 24, 2002

If you want this advisory automatically e-mailed to you each day, click HERE.

If you want recent archives of this advisory, click HERE.

To e-mail us an observation, CLICK HERE.

 

Good morning, this is Ethan Greene with the Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center with your backcountry avalanche and mountain weather advisory.  Today is Sunday, November 24, 2002, and it’s 7:30 am.

 

Current Conditions:

The clouds began to roll in yesterday afternoon and it almost felt like winter in the mountains.  We picked up about a half inch of wet snow above about 9,000’, but that’s barely enough to cover all the rocks.  This morning the skies are mostly cloudy and temperatures are in the low to mid 20’s at 8,000’ and upper teens at 10,000’.  The winds are blowing in the 30 mph range from the west with some gusts over 50 along the highest ridgelines.

 

A few patches of recrystalized powder still exist on slopes sheltered from both the wind and sun.  Elsewhere, there is a nice variety of wind and sun crusts creating interesting to frustrating conditions.  On sunny aspects the snow is generally supportable above 9,000’. 

 

Avalanche Conditions:

Cooler temperatures and some cloud cover will reduce the avalanche potential today.  With very little new snow in the last week there are few new avalanche problems.  The greatest danger in the backcountry may be crashing into a hidden rock or log. 

 

Time and mild temperature have greatly reduced the change of triggering a deeper hard slab avalanche.  But if you’re headed into steep terrain in mid and upper elevations areas they may be isolated weak areas where you could trigger a hard slab.

 

Bottom Line (SLC and Provo Area Mountains):

The avalanche danger is generally LOW.

 

Ogden Area Mountains:

The avalanche danger is generally LOW.

 

Mountain Weather:

An upper level front will move through northern Utah today bringing increased cloud cover and cooler temperatures.  Expect ridge-top winds to be from the west and shifting to the northwest during the day.  Wind speeds are fairly strong this morning but should drop into the 15 to 20 mph range by mid day.  High temperatures will be near 30 degrees at 8,000’ and in the low to mid 20’s at 10,000’.  Our best chance for precipitation is tonight.  Cross your fingers because we expect to see only an inch or two of new snow by Monday morning.  Ridge-top winds are expected to be in the moderate to strong category from the east on Monday.

 

General Information:

For a complete list of avalanche talks and multi-day classes, visit www.avalanche.org and click on Salt Lake and then Education. 

 

To report backcountry snow and avalanche conditions, especially if you observe or trigger an avalanche, call (801) 524-5304 or 1-800-662-4140, or email to [email protected] or fax 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 7:30 on Monday morning.

 

Thanks for calling!

________________________________________________________________________

  

 

National Weather Service - Salt Lake City - Snow.

For an explanation of avalanche danger ratings:

http://www.avalanche.org/usdanger.htm