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Cache National Forest
In partnership with: The Friends of the Utah
The Utah Avalanche Center Home page is: http://www.avalanche.org/~uac/
Avalanche advisory
Thursday,
April 10, 2003
Good Morning. This is Evelyn Lees with the
Current Conditions:
Another warm spring day is on
tap for the northern
Yesterday, people were
finding early corn-like conditions as the crusts softened. Though overnight temperatures were above
freezing, the clear skies have helped to cool the surface snow, and I expect a
shallow, hard refreeze early this morning.
The areas of decent corn-like snow
should be more widespread, but shorter lived today, as temperatures are about 5
degrees warmer than yesterday. And for an
added bonus, there is a bit of dense powder on the steeper upper elevation northerly
facing slopes.
Avalanche Conditions:
The snow is easing into the warm-up with less avalanche activity
than I would have expected. Yesterday, there
were only a few reports of small wet loose sluffs, though the lack of reported activity
may be in part due to a lack of backcountry travelers.
Today, with warmer temperatures, the snow may heat up a bit faster
than yesterday. So play the aspect game
in your tour - as the snow gets wet and sloppy on one slope, move to a different
aspect with cooler, more solid snow. Wind plays a key factor in wet snow conditions,
and steady breezes can provide significant cooling.
In addition to the sunny slopes, the steep northerly facing slopes
also have snow to shed. Each subsequent
day of this prolonged warming trend makes me more suspicious of the very steep
mid and upper elevation northerly facing slopes, especially those with smooth
rock slabs beneath them or with a shallow snow pack. Until the temperatures cool next week, this
is not the time to be in valley or gully bottoms beneath steep slopes such as
Stairs Gulch and Broads Fork. Cornices
are softening and becoming more sensitive with the warmer temperatures, so avoid
traveling on or below them.
Bottom Line (SLC,
The
avalanche danger at all elevations is LOW early this morning, but will rise to MODERATE by mid morning as sunshine and
warming temperatures soften the snowpack and create the potential for wet loose
and wet slab avalanches. Avalanche
activity is possible on all aspects, including northerly facing slopes. The danger may possibly rise to CONSIDERABLE if the affects of heating are greater.
Mountain Weather:
High pressure will bring warm,
dry weather to the area through Friday. Highs
today will be in the low 50s at 8,000 and in the upper 30s at 10,000. Ridge top winds will be from the southwest,
in the 5 to 15 mph range, with speeds at the most exposed locations reaching
into the low 20s. Temperatures will be above
freezing at most elevations again tonight, with lows near 40 at 10,000. Friday will be a carbon copy day. On Saturday and Sunday, there will be increasing
clouds and moderate to strong southwest winds ahead of a Pacific trough that is
forecast to cross the area late Monday.
General Information:
This coming Sunday will be the last morning advisory of the season
and we will issue afternoon updates as needed until about the end of
April. We are updating our 364-1591 line
each morning by
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 Greene will update this advisory by
Thanks for calling!
________________________________________________________________________
National
Weather Service - Salt Lake City - Snow.
For an explanation of
avalanche danger ratings: