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

 

Tuesday, March 25, 2003

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

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

To e-mail us an observation, CLICK HERE.

To see photos of recent avalanche activity CLICK HERE (updated 3-23-03)

To see a list of recent avalanches, CLICK HERE (updated daily)

 

Good Morning.  This is Tom Kimbrough with the Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center with your backcountry avalanche and mountain weather advisory.  Today is Tuesday, March 25, 2003, and it’s 7:30 in the morning. 

 

Current Conditions:

Skies were mostly clear overnight, allowing temperatures to drop into the teens and low twenties in the mountains.  Winds are westerly 10 to 20 mph at most stations, with stronger winds at the highest elevations, hitting 35 to 50 mph.  Snow conditions are less than ideal with lots of variable crusts, some of which may be supportable this morning on southeast, south and southwest facing slopes.  There is a little powder in the shade at the highest elevations.

 

Avalanche Conditions:

Yesterday’s warmth combined with last night’s cooling will give us mostly stable snow this morning.  Along upper elevation ridge lines and gullies there may be a few drifts of Sunday night’s new snow that could still be sensitive today but these are mostly shallow.  With lots of sun today and 8,000 foot temperatures getting into the mid forties, the danger will begin to rise as the thermometer heads upward.  When the snow turns to deep wet mush, it’s time to switch to a more solid slope or head for home.

 

There may still be isolated places where it is possible to trigger an avalanche on a deeper weak layer.  Setting off one of these deep releases at this time probably requires a fairly large trigger and some bad luck but the consequences could be very serious.  The most likely place to find this sort of trouble is a very steep northerly facing slope above 9,500 feet, especially in rocky areas with a relatively thin snow pack.  I think this danger also increases with daytime warming.  

 

Bottom Line (SLC, Park City, Ogden, and Provo Area Mountains)

The avalanche danger is generally LOW this morning but will increase to MODERATE as temperatures rise.  The isolated danger of triggering a deep slab avalanche on slopes approaching 40 degrees and above about 9,500 feet will also increase to MODERATE as the day warms. 

 

Western Uintas – call 1-800-648-7433 or click here for weekend and holiday forecasts.

 

Mountain Weather:

High pressure will be over Utah today bringing fair skies and warm temperatures but a rather strong looking spring storm is forecasted to arrive Wednesday afternoon.  Today will be mostly sunny with 8,000 foot temperatures getting into the mid forties and in the thirties at 10,000.  Winds will be westerly 15 to 25 mph over the ridges.  Clouds and wind will increase tonight with a cold front scheduled to arrive sometime tomorrow afternoon.  Snowfall could continue into Thursday.

 

General Information:

Wasatch Powderbird Guides will be flying today in White Pine, Cardiff, Day’s, Silver and Mineral Forks with a home run out Grizzly Gulch.  For more information call 801-742-2800.

 

To report backcountry snow and avalanche conditions, especially if you observe or trigger an avalanche, please leave a message on our answer machine at (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.

 

Evelyn Lees will update this advisory by 7:30 on Wednesday morning.

 

Thanks for calling!

________________________________________________________________________

   

National Weather Service - Salt Lake City - Snow.

For an explanation of avalanche danger ratings:

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