In partnership with: The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center, Utah Department of Public Safety
Division of Comprehensive Emergency Management, Salt Lake County, and Utah
State Parks
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Good morning and Happy Solstice! This is Drew Hardesty with the
Current Conditions:
The first wave of a weak Pacific storm put down 3” of 5-7% density snow by 5am this morning and we can expect to pick up a few more inches of snow today before skies start to clear later tonight. Overnight winds have been generally less than 15mph out of the southwest and most reporting stations have temperatures in the low 30’s. Snow surface conditions are variable with crusts, wind slab, and soft settled powder. Hopefully this storm will provide the mixing of the airmasses we need to rid us of the smog in the valleys.
Avalanche Conditions:
With no new avalanches or even a whisper of instability in the snowpack, all’s quiet in the backcountry. The warm temps may have a positive effect on a couple of things – one in the short term and another for the longer road. First, it’s likely that the warm temperatures will allow the new snow to bond well with the underlying snow surfaces. And second, it appears that the warmth from the past two days may have even promoted the healing of any weaknesses associated with the rime crusts. The second notion is a bit trickier so we’d like to keep our eye on this for awhile. So for today, at least, I’m not expecting the new snow to pose much of a hazard to backcountry travelers. Sluffing in the new snow may occur on the steepest slopes, but skiers and riders should find it manageable. If the winds exceed the expected 15mph, watch for shallow, yet sensitive wind drifts forming along the lee of ridgelines.
Bottom Line (
The
avalanche danger is LOW .
Mountain Weather:
We
should see continued showery weather that may produce another 3” or so by the
end of the day. The winds, currently out
of the southwest in the 15mph range, should veer westerly and then
northwesterly over the course of the day and remain light. 8000’ temps will be in the high twenties with
10,000’ temps in the low twenties. A
ridge will develop over
3-Day Table |
3-Day Graph |
7-Day Table |
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:
General
Information:
The Wasatch Powderbird Guides will not be flying today due to weather.
If you get out early, each day we try to update our more detailed, early morning report with preliminary information by around 6:00 am at (801) 364-1591.
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 801-524-6301.
The
Friends of the
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 on Monday 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