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Cache National Forest
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Good Morning. This is Evelyn Lees with the
Current Conditions:
The Grinch that Stole Winter was
back in
There’s still some soft dense
powder on very sheltered slopes, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to
find among the widespread wind and sun crusts.
Avalanche Conditions:
Several episodes of strong
winds over the past couple days, including the current stiff northwesterly flow,
have created localized areas of hard, cracky wind slabs. These drifts will easily fracture under the
weight of a person on steep slopes.
While these drifts are fairly shallow, they are definitely large enough
to knock you off your feet and take you for a ride. Today’s strong winds will increase the extent
and depth of these drifts. Sluffs in the
weak surface snow also have enough punch to take a person for a ride on a continuously
steep slope.
Digging deeper into the
snowpack shows those rotten faceted layers are still down there. Several recent reports of collapsing and a
small slide ski cut on Sunday indicate there are still localized areas where a
person could trigger a slide on the more deeply buried facets. Such a slide would have serious consequences,
most definitely deep and wide enough to bury you.
Bottom Line (SLC,
Today there is a MODERATE danger of
triggering a deep slab avalanche on slopes facing northwest, north, northeast
and east, above about 9,000’ that are steeper than 35 degrees. Steep slopes with recent wind deposits also
have a MODERATE
avalanche danger, and will be more widespread today. On south facing slopes and slopes less than
steep than 30 degrees, the avalanche danger is generally LOW.
Mountain Weather:
The dying remains of a
Pacific weather system have brought overcast skies and light snow to the
mountains this morning. The snow should
be a short lived morning event, with skies becoming partly cloudy by this
afternoon. Highs will be in the upper 20’s
at 8,000’ and the upper teens at 10,000’.
The moderate to strong, blustery northwesterly winds will be more persistent,
averaging 20 to 30 mph across most ridges, and 40 to 50 mph across the highest
peaks and most exposed ridgelines. The
high pressure ridge will rebuild along the west coast today, keeping a
generally dry northerly flow over the area through the end of the week.
General Information:
Weather permitting,
Wasa
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
Thanks for calling!
________________________________________________________________________
National
Weather Service - Salt Lake City - Snow.
For an explanation of
avalanche danger ratings: