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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
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Good Morning. This is Evelyn Lees with the
Current Conditions:
Snow showers continued in the
upper Cottonwoods yesterday and last night, with additional accumulations of 2
to 9 of light density snow. Storm
totals are 1 ½ to 2 feet in the upper Cottonwoods and 14 to 20 in the
This morning, skies are
partly cloudy and temperatures are in the frosty single digits to low teens. Winds are from a westerly direction, averaging
10 to 15 mph, with gusts in the mid 20s.
On a few of the highest peaks, hourly averages are in the mid 20s, with
higher gusts.
Avalanche Conditions:
Slides continued to be easily
triggered yesterday, both by people and explosives, and there were many reports
of widespread cracking and collapsing in the backcountry. This indicated that the buried weak layers have
not adjusted to the weight of the new snow yet, and that the simple weight of a
person is enough to tip the balance.
A more defined pattern of the
avalanche activity is emerging. Most of
the natural and human triggered activity has been on northwest, north,
northeast and easterly facing slopes, with a few slides on west and southeast. The slides are averaging 1 to 2 deep, with wide
variation in width - from enormous 1000 wide slides to small pockets of 50. Some
have been on slopes less steep than 35 degrees.
All the slides are breaking in the old snow, in one of the several layers
of weak facets.
It is worth noting that slopes which
were largely bare a week ago have better stability, as they do not contain this
underlying weak layer. However I would caution against making assumptions solely
based on slope aspect. One mistake could
result in nasty consequences.
A significant number of
slides have broken well off the ridgelines, leaving a large amount of snow hanging
in place above the crown. There have
been numerous reports of people triggering slides on shady, mid and lower
elevation slopes, where the weak facets were well preserved in wind sheltered
areas. These slides are generally smaller
in width, but still 1-2 feet deep, and large enough to get a person in trouble,
especially if the snow piles up in a terrain trap such as a gully bottom or
road cut.
The key to safe travel in the
backcountry today will be wa
Bottom Line (SLC,
The avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE today on west
through north through east facing slopes above 7,500. Human triggered avalanches are probable, and
natural avalanches are possible. With strong
southwest winds in the forecast for tonight, expect the avalanche danger to increase
again by Friday morning.
Mountain Weather:
After a few lingering snow
showers this morning, skies should become mostly clear as a short lived ridge
moves over the area. The northwesterly
winds will average 10 to 20 mph across the higher ridges, and shift to the
southwest by late afternoon. Highs today
will be in the mid teens at 10,000 and near 20 at 8,000. For tonight, increasing clouds and strong
southwest winds developing ahead of the next storm system, which should spread
snow into northern
General Information:
The Friends of the
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.
Tom Kimbrough will update this advisory by
Thanks for calling!
________________________________________________________________________
National
Weather Service - Salt Lake City - Snow.
For an explanation of
avalanche danger ratings: