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Good Morning. This is Tom Kimbrough with the
Current Conditions:
I must say I’m impressed with
the present state of the long and mid range weather forecasting. Some of the computer models saw tomorrow’s change
in our weather pattern two weeks ago.
The computers may not yet get the details just right every time but they
are getting the general picture right most of the time and often well in
advance of the event.
This should be the transition
day with winds picking up from the south and southwest. Mountain temperatures are in the mid twenties
this morning, with ridge top winds 10 to 20 mph with gusts to 30.
Snow totals from the mid week
snow event were around 2 to 5 inches but a short period of moisture and rain at
the end of the storm capped the new snow
with a thin crust. This crust has been
observed in the
Avalanche Conditions:
As we learned in our basic
classes to have an avalanche you need a slab and a weak layer. There may not be a slab yet this morning but,
man, do we have weak layers. It’s like a
whole chapter out of the avalanche handbook.
There’s depth hoar, surface hoar, mid pack facets, near surface facets,
crust and facet sandwiches; you name it, it’s out there. Now to top it all off there is this thin
crust from the Wednesday rain that has surface hoar on top and a faceted layer
underneath. The weak layers are most
obvious on northerly facing shady slopes but east and west facing, even around
to the southeast and southwest have weak layers associated with crusts. Some of these slopes may be especially sensitive
to increasing loads with the crusts providing good bed surfaces.
Even before it starts snowing
sometime tonight the increasing winds this afternoon will cause the avalanche
danger to begin to rise.
Bottom Line (SLC,
The avalanche danger is
generally LOW this
morning but will rise to MODERATE
with human triggered avalanches becoming possible this afternoon in steep wind
exposed terrain. The danger will become more widespread tonight
and Sunday and may increase as snowfall accumulates.
Mountain Weather:
Clouds and wind will increase
today. High temperatures will be near 40
at 8,000 feet and in the thirties at 10,000.
Ridge top wind speeds may reach the 25 to 35 range with gusts over 50
mph this afternoon and tonight. Snowfall
should begin after
General Information:
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.
Ethan Green will update this advisory by
Thanks for calling!
________________________________________________________________________
National
Weather Service - Salt Lake City - Snow.
For an explanation of
avalanche danger ratings: