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 ADVISORY
Tuesday, December 13, 2005 7:30am
Good morning,
this is Brett Kobernik with the
The beacon locator park at Snowbird is now open and
free to the public. It’s sponsored by
Wasatch Backcountry Rescue and Snowbird and located just off the bypass road in
upper Little Cottonwood Canyon.
Upcoming avalanche awareness talks by the UAC staff
include:
Dec 13 7 pm REI, 3285 E, 3300 S, SLC
Dec 14 6:30 pm Mountain
High Motorsports,
Dec 14 7 pm Wasatch Mtn Club: South Valley Unitarian,
Current Conditions:
A weak storm system will affect the
Avalanche Conditions:
Yesterday was another quiet day avalanche wise with the only activity being
some wet point releases on southerly aspects.
Things will change somewhat today with a small amount of wind and snow
in the forecast. The new snow will probably
not add enough weight to overload any buried weak layers but you will want to
pay attention to the new snow and old snow interface. With a variety of crusts and loose snow on
the current surface, you will want to perform a few tests to see how the new
snow is bonding. Slope cuts can be very
effective in fresh snow as well as shovel tilt tests (Explanations
found here: 2.8 Slope Cut Testing &
Figure 2.18; 2.9.8
Shovel Tilt Test & Figure 2.19a).
Bottom
Line:
The avalanche
danger is mostly LOW
this morning but keep in mind that as the snow piles up the danger of new
snow avalanches will be increasing and may reach MODERATE by this afternoon especially
if we receive more snow then is forecasted.
Watch for fresh wind drifts forming along the upper ridges throughout
the day as these may be sensitive to the weight of a person.
Mountain Weather:
Today we’ll see
mostly cloudy skies with snow showers starting late this morning and continuing
through the afternoon. Up to 4 inches of
snow is possible. Ridgetop temperatures
will drop into the upper teens and ridgetop wind speeds will be in the 20 mph
range from the west switching to the northwest in the afternoon.
Snow showers may linger into the evening with a trace to a few additional
inches of snow. Ridgetop temperatures
will continue to drop and reach the single digits overnight with ridgetop wind
speeds decreasing as well.
We’re back to high pressure for the next few days with a small chance of another
brush-by system possible by the weekend.
Regional
Snow Profile (this profile can also be
found daily off our home page under avalanche products)
Seasonal Weather History Charts.
Please
report any backcountry snow and avalanche conditions you observe. Call (801) 524-5304 or 1-800-662-4140, email [email protected] or fax 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.)
UDOT also has a highway avalanche control work
hotline for Little Cottonwood road, which is updated as needed. 801-975-4838.
The annual report for 2004-05 is now on the web.
(Click HERE,
8mb)
Evelyn Lees
will update this advisory by 7:30 Wednesday morning. Thanks for calling.