In partnership with: Utah Division of State
Parks and Recreation, The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center, Utah Department
of Emergency Services and Homeland Security and
AVALANCHE BULLETIN
Saturday, November 26, 2005 5pm
Good morning,
this is Brett Kobernik with the
There will be two showings of the new TGR film
“Tangerine Dream” at Brewvies Thursday, December 1, at 7 and 9 pm. This is a fundraiser for the UAC, sponsored
by our partner, The Friends of the
Next week our staff will be giving two free
avalanche awareness talks. The first is
Tuesday, November 29th at the Salt Lake REI. The second is Thursday, December 1st
at the Sandy REI. Both are at 7pm. These talks are great for all ages and all
types of recreation.
For a quick glance at avalanche classes in the
The annual report for 2004-05 is now on the web.
(Click HERE,
8mb)
Current Conditions:
Snow started falling overnight with the
Avalanche Conditions:
Just about the
time I was really getting tired of staring at weather maps depicting an endless
high pressure, it looks like the Wasatch will receive some much needed snow.
The current snow pack is a complex mix of sun
crusts, wind crusts and various types of recrystalized snow but let’s try to
keep it simple. The last two weeks of
high pressure produced an abundance of weak, sugary snow on northwest through
easterly facing slopes above 8500 feet. Expect
this snow to collapse and avalanche if we receive the heavy snowfall that’s forecasted.
You can easily avoid this problem once we have
enough snow by traveling in areas that had little or no snow prior to this
event such as southerly facing slopes or lower elevation slopes.
The difficulty is areas that currently have weak
snow will be some of the most inviting. Don’t let your excitement for fresh snow override your decision making. Give it a little time to see just how the old
snow reacts with the new. Carry a
shovel, probe and avalanche beacon and practice with them prior to going out to
refresh your skills and check that your equipment is operating properly.
Bottom Line:
The avalanche
danger will quickly rise to MODERATE as snow piles up during the day. This will be most pronounced on west through
north through east facing slopes steeper then 35 degrees that had snow cover
previous to this storm. Again, the
avalanche danger will be on the rise today and may reach Considerable by late this afternoon or
evening.
Mountain Weather:
For today, expect
snow showers with accumulations up to a foot by late afternoon. Snow levels should reach the valley floor. Ridgetop temperatures will drop into the mid
teens and ridgetop winds will be in the 20 mph range from the northwest.
For tonight into Sunday expect more snow. Confidence is good that there will be lake
effect bands that could add another 20 inches or more in areas favored by
northwest flow. Ridgetop temperatures
may drop to the single digits by Sunday morning and ridgetop winds will stay in
the 20 mph range from the northwest.
For the rest of the week, we’ll be in a moist
westerly flow with a few more systems moving through, the next starting Monday
night.
Seasonal Weather History Charts. (NOTE:
USE INTERNET EXPLORER FOR BEST VIEWING)
Please
report any backcountry snow and avalanche conditions you observe. We need all the information we can get. You can call (801) 524-5304 or
1-800-662-4140, or email to [email protected]
or fax 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.
To
have this advisory automatically e-mailed to you each day, click HERE. (You must re-sign up this season even if you
were on the list last season.)