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
Wednesday,
January 29, 2003
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Good Morning. This is Evelyn Lees with the
Current Conditions:
It is a delightful morning in
the mountains, with clear skies and pleasantly cool temperatures, ranging from
the upper teens to low twenties. The
northwesterly winds are light, in the 5 to 15 mph range. Turning conditions will be first-rate on
shady slopes above about 9,000’ in 6 to 9” of settled powder. But if you’re in the mood to torment
yourself, there are widespread areas of thick, breakable Styrofoam crusts on
any slope which received sun yesterday.
Avalanche Conditions:
Yesterday, there were many small
natural and skier triggered avalanches within the new snow. It was easy to get the new snow to sluff on both
sunny and shady slopes, sometimes trigging a small soft slab. The slides were generally 20 to 40’ wide, and
mostly stopping short as the slope angle decreased. Natural releases were reported from the Monitors,
the
Last nights cooler temperatures
will have settled out many of these instabilities. Today, the most likely place to get in
trouble would be on a continuously long, steep, shady slope. Here, even a smaller sluff would have the
potential entrain snow and pick up speed resulting in more serious
consequences. In isolated areas, slides
could still break into the upper layers of facets.
Warming temperatures and
direct sun will initiate another round of wet snow activity today. Easterly facing slopes will be the first to
become active, followed by south and west. High thin clouds are in the forecast, which
will cause “green housing”, the heating of the snow surface even on shady
slopes.
Bottom Line (SLC,
Today the avalanche danger is
MODERATE on slopes
about 35 degrees or steeper, which face northwest, north, northeast and east, above
about 9,000’. There is LOW danger this morning on slopes
less than about 35 degrees, slopes below about 9,000’ and on the sunny slopes. As the day heats up, the avalanche danger
will increase to MODERATE
on and below steep slopes of all elevations and aspects.
Mountain Weather:
There will be mostly sunny
skies this morning, with increasing high thin clouds clouds
this afternoon. Highs today will be in the
low 40’s at 8,000’ and near 30 at 10,000’.
Winds will be in the 10 to 20 mph range from the northwest. Increasing clouds late tonight, with
northwest winds 25 to 30 mph by morning, and lows in the mid to upper 20’s. A moist northwest flow will move across
northern
General Information:
Wasa
The Friends of the Utah
This Sunday, February 2nd,
there will be a fundraiser for the 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.
Bruce Tremper will update this advisory by
Thanks for calling!
________________________________________________________________________
National
Weather Service - Salt Lake City - Snow.
For an explanation of
avalanche danger ratings: