Wasatch Cache National Forest

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:

 

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 3/25)

Photos sent in by observers throughout the season visit:  http://www.avalanche.org/~uac/obphotos/observer.html      (Updated 4/2)

For a list of backcountry avalanche activity, visit:  http://www.avalanche.org/%7Euac/Avalanche_List.htm     (Updated 3/31)

 

Early morning preliminary information by about 6:00 am: 801-364-1591

 

Avalanche advisory

Friday, April 09, 2004,   7:30 am

 

Good morning, this is Andrew McLean with the Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center with your backcountry avalanche and mountain weather advisory.  Today is Friday, April 09, 2004, and it’s 7:30 a.m.  This forecast is brought to you in partnership with the Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center, supported in part by the Uinta Brewing Company.

 

Current Conditions:

It hasn’t been the hottest spring on record, or the driest, but the last month of above average temperatures and lack of snowfall has taken its toll on our snowpack.  In the past tens days alone, the lower elevations around the Provo mountains have lost up to 25% of their snowpack and many sun exposed slopes are down to the dirt.  The upper elevations have faired better and with a solid refreeze last night, accompanied by a light but steady cooling wind out of the northwest, will survive a bit longer.   Forays into the backcountry will feature easy traveling, smooth corn,  a trace of new and potentially more snow on the way later today.

 

Avalanche Conditions:

With the extensive consolidation and 20 hours of below freezing temperatures, we are enjoying a period of excellent snowpack stability.  Today’s mixed cloud cover will keep the wet avalanche activity at bay as well as arresting any glide avalanche progress.  This may be short-lived however, as strong winds and 4-6” of snow are expected to arrive this afternoon.  The new snow should bond well to areas that received a trace of sticky powder yesterday, but will be sensitive in areas where it falls on slick crusts.  During this storm, the wind is expected to shift from the NW to the east, which will load a variety of slopes.  If you are out later in the day or early tomorrow morning, watch out for recent deposits of wind drifted snow along the ridgelines or on cross loaded slopes.  These round, pillowy pockets may offer a few tempting turns of deeper snow, but will also be sensitive to the weight of a human trigger.

 

Bottom Line for the Salt Lake, Park CITY, OGDEN AND Provo AREA MOUNTAINS:

There is a LOW danger of human triggered or natural avalanches this morning, which will rise to MODERATE by this afternoon, if the storm develops as expected.

 

Uinta Mountains:  For Uinta specific information, click on Western Uintas on the advisory page or phone 1-800-648-7433.

Logan: click HERE or call 435-797-4146

 

Mountain Weather:

Occasional showers and thunderstorms will form on the beginning and end of a cold front that is moving in from the north.  Gusty winds will build throughout the day, switching from the northwest to the east and reaching up to 50 mph along the ridgelines.  The storm will taper off in the evening and the temperatures drop down into the long forgotten teens at 8,000.  Saturday will have a slight chance of showers and partly cloudy skies, whereas Sunday will probably be the best day of the weekend with mostly sunny weather and highs in the upper 30’s.  Warmer temperatures return in the beginning of next week.

 

For specific digital forecasts for the Salt Lake, Provo or Ogden mountains, CLICK HERE.

 

General Information:

We will continue to issue morning forecasts through Sunday morning, and then we’ll go to intermittent afternoon updates.

 

The Wasatch Powderbird Guides were grounded yesterday, and if they can make it out today, they will be in White Pine, Mineral Fork, Cardiff Fork, Days Fork and Silver Fork.

 

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.

 

Drew Hardesty will update this advisory on Saturday morning.

 

Thanks for calling.

 

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