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
3/16)
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
Wednesday, March 24, 2004, 7:30 am
Good
morning, this is Evelyn Lees with the
Current Conditions:
A mild and unstable air mass is over northern
Snow conditions are uninspiring and hazardous, with a punchy, semi supportable surface that occasionally collapses beneath when you least expect, dropping you into the wet, loose mush below. In addition, the snowpack is disappearing faster than your tax dollars. So as you travel, carefully avoid the newly uncovered dirt, rocks and stumps on the steep sunny slopes and at mid and low elevations.
Avalanche Conditions:
Even the snowpack is getting bored of this hot weather. It will still be possible to trigger wet loose sluffs on steep slopes today, but the frequency of natural wet sluffs, slabs and glide avalanches is decreasing. In addition, today’s partly cloudy skies and moderate winds will help cool the snow. Still, as you travel in the backcountry, continue to use good sense and caution by staying off of and out from under steep slopes, especially as they heat up with sun.
As temperatures cool and the snow surface refreezes at times today and tomorrow, it may be possible to trigger one of the unusual “corn slabs”. This is when the frozen surface snow fails on the very wet, weak unconsolidated snow beneath it.
Bottom
Line for the
The danger of wet snow avalanches is moderate on all slopes steeper than about 35
degrees. Moderate means human triggered avalanche are possible, and a few natural
avalanches are not out of the question.
Mountain Weather:
Once again it will feel like spring today, with mild
temperatures and a build up of cumulus, possibly developing into thunderheads. High temperatures will be near 40 at 10,000’
and in the mid 50’s at 8,000’. The
chance of isolated thunderstorms will continue into early this evening. 8 and 10,000’ temperatures will cool to near
freezing tonight. With skies clearing
later tonight, Thursday morning should be the first decent refreeze we’ve had
in days. Thursday will sunny and warm,
with increasing winds ahead of a disturbance that should reach northern
For specific digital forecasts for the
General Information:
The Wasatch Powderbird Guides didn’t fly yesterday and will not be flying today.
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.
Thanks for calling.
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