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
Good morning, this is
Current Conditions:
Over the last two days, the
The storm was a mixture of
warm, high density snow with some graupel mixed in. This makes for tough trail breaking, but good
turning conditions on the supportable, heavier density snow. The best bet for good turns is on sheltered,
lower angle slopes that haven’t been hammered by the wind.
Avalanche Conditions:
These high winds drifted snow
onto East through Northeast facing slopes, creating dangerous wind slabs and sensitive
cornices. Yesterday people found thick
wind slabs that are sensitive to human triggers on the lee side of ridges, which
may crack, but not go anywhere if the angle is 35 degrees or less, but will run
full track on steeper slopes. Explosive
testing at the resorts produced numerous results yesterday with some slopes
releasing multiple times. The high winds
have loaded slopes well off the ridgeline, causing avalanches to trigger lower
down on the slopes than might be expected.
At higher elevation, stick to ridge lines and avoid obvious wind loaded
pillows.
Bottom Line (
Danger is CONSIDERABLE on any steep slope with recent wind deposits
above 9,000 with slope angles steeper than 35 degrees. You’ll find them mostly on east and northeast
facing slopes. It is MODERATE on all aspects below 9,000’.
Mountain Weather:
Expect scattered clouds with
warming and clearing throughout today and some light snow showers. The winds will shift to the west and the snow
will taper off this evening as a high pressure system moves overhead. The big news is that on Wednesday, a mild
southwest flow will be developing along with dramatically warmer temperatures in
the upper 40’s and possibly 50’s in the mountains, in front of an approaching
cold front on Thursday. This is anticipated
to bring a potentially major storm on Friday, with snow expected in the
For specific digital forecasts for selected mountain areas from the
National Weather Service, click the links below or choose your own specific
location at the National
Weather Service Digital Forecast Page:
3-Day Table |
3-Day Graph |
7-Day Table |
General
Information:
The Alta Ski Area will be closed to uphill traffic because of avalanche
control and slope preparation for their opening on Thursday.
If
you are getting into the backcountry, please give us a call and let us know
what you’re seeing, especially if you trigger an avalanche. You can leave a message at 524-5304 or
1-800-662-4140. Or you can e-mail an
observation to uac@avalanche .org, or you can fax an
observation to 801-524-4030.
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 be updating this advisory tomorrow morning.
Thanks for calling.
_____________________________________________________________________________
For more detailed weather
information go to our Mountain Weather Advisory
National
Weather Service - Salt Lake City - Snow.
For an explanation of
avalanche danger ratings:
http://www.avalanche.org/usdanger.htm