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
Sunday,
February 05, 2006 7:30am
Good morning, this is Brett Kobernik with
the
Current Conditions:
Ridgetop winds were quite gusty for most
of the day on Saturday blowing from the southwest. They shifted around to the northwest just
before midnight but continued to blow in the strong range. Temperatures cooled into the 10 to 20 degree
range overnight. New snow totals as of 6
am are around 6 inches in the Cottonwoods, 2 to 4 inches in the
Avalanche Conditions:
Continued windy conditions produced
sensitive soft slab avalanches along the upper ridgelines on Saturday. These were both natural and human
triggered. Most were 6 to 10 inches deep
but I did get one report of a slide 1 to 2 ½ feet deep in
Today fresh wind drifts will be the main
focus. With the wind shift last night we
will see wind slabs on a wider variety of aspects today. You will more then likely find these on north through east through south facing slopes at
the upper elevations. It appears that
the winds are not getting into the lower elevation terrain but continue to
watch for cracking under your feet as you travel today. This is a sure sign you are in wind affect
snow. We may be past the point of
natural activity and these fresh drifts may be a bit more stubborn today
letting you get out on to them before they release. Any fresh drifts along the upper ridgelines are
suspect to avalanching today.
Bottom Line:
The avalanche danger is MODERATE today in mid
and lower elevation non wind affected terrain.
A CONSIDERABLE
danger exists on steep upper elevation terrain that has any recent deposits of
wind drifted snow. Natural avalanches
are still possible and I would expect that numerous slopes could avalanche with
the weight of a person.
Mountain Weather:
Snow showers will continue during the day especially in areas favored by
a northwest flow. Another 3 to 5 inches
of snow is possible. Gusty winds from
the northwest will continue then start to decrease as the day goes on. Ridgetop temperatures will be in the low
teens. A ridge of high pressure will
start to build in and will keep us dry at least through Friday.
Click here for the National
Weather Service graphic Forecast.
Announcements:
Click here to check out our new online avalanche
encyclopedia.
Early birds and snow
geeks can catch our 6AM report at 364-1591.
You can find our mountain
weather forecast here
by about noon each day.
Click HERE for a text only version of the avalanche advisory.
To
have this advisory automatically e-mailed to you each day, click HERE.
UDOT also has a highway avalanche control work
hotline for Big Cottonwood, Little Cottonwood, and
The
Wasatch Powderbird Guides didn’t get out yesterday probably won’t get out today. For more info, call 742-2800.
Please
report any backcountry snow and avalanche conditions. 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.
Drew Hardesty will update this advisory by 7:30 Monday morning. Thanks for calling.