In
partnership with: The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center, Utah Department of
Public Safety Division of Comprehensive Emergency Management,
To have this advisory automatically e-mailed to you each day free of charge, visit: http://www.mailermailer.com/x?oid=16351h
For photos of avalanches and
avalanche phenomenon, visit: http://www.avalanche.org/%7Euac/photos_03-04.htm (Updated
3/6)
Photos sent in by observers
throughout the season visit: http://www.avalanche.org/~uac/obphotos/observer.html (Updated
3/12)
For a list of backcountry avalanche
activity, visit: http://www.avalanche.org/%7Euac/Avalanche_List.htm (Updated
3/9)
Early morning preliminary information by about 6:00 am: 801-364-1591
Avalanche advisory
Monday, March 15, 2004, 7:30 am
Good
morning, this is Drew Hardesty with the
Current Conditions:
Skies are mostly clear and mountain temperatures dropped into the mid-twenties at the higher elevations with only a marginal refreeze below 8500’. As advertised, the northwesterly winds jumped overnight into the 30’s and 40’s and should remain in the moderate to strong category through the day.
Avalanche Conditions:
With only a marginal refreeze at the mid elevations, the pendulum will likely swing from supportable corn to bottomless soggy snow earlier than the past couple days. At the same time, be on the lookout for shallow snowpack areas whose only strength – without a solid mid-pack - is the refrozen surface. Similarly, on the northerly slopes, avoid rocky thin snowpack areas with wind slab over weak sugary snow – the set up that caught an unwary backcountry traveler on Saturday. When using your ski or probe pole, both of these will feel like “something over nothing”. Collapsing in the corn snow will also be a sign to avoid the nearby steep slopes.
Bottom
Line for the Wasatch Range, including the
The avalanche danger is LOW this morning. With daytime heating, the danger may rise to MODERATE on some steep sun exposed slopes and at mid and lower elevations.
Mountain Weather:
We’ll have mostly sunny skies with 8000’ highs at 40 degrees with 10,000’ temps in the low twenties. Winds will be northwesterly in the 20-30mph range. Northern Utah will be under a breezy northwesterly flow through Wednesday, when the flow shifts to the southwest ahead of what may be record breaking temps by the weekend. Yuk.
For specific digital forecasts for the
General Information:
Yesterday, the Wasatch Powderbird Guides flew a single run in AF; if they get out today, they’ll be in AF and Snake Creek.
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 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.
Andrew McLean will update this advisory Tuesday morning.
Thanks for calling.
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