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,
March 28, 2006 7:30 am
Good morning, this is Brett Kobernik with
the
Current Conditions:
Temperatures remained fairly
warm overnight with most 8,000 foot locations staying in the mid 30s and 10,000
foot temperatures in the mid to upper 20s.
Southerly ridgetop winds continue to blow in the moderate category with
average speeds in the 15 to 20 mph range gusting into the 30s with gusts into
the 40s at the highest locations.
Moisture that is being fed into the area in a southerly flow is
currently producing light snow at some mountain locations.
Recent Avalanche Activity & Snowpack Discussion:
No significant avalanche
activity was observed on Monday. An
expected natural wet avalanche cycle did not come to fruition as mid-day cloud
cover and moderate ridgetop winds kept temperatures in check which did not allow
the snow to do much more then become somewhat damp. (Click
here for more observations & photos from Monday)
Wet activity at lower
elevations will be the main concern today.
With warm overnight temperatures only a moderate refreeze will have
occurred. Terrain below about 8,000 feet
must be approached cautiously. Stay out
of terrain traps and out from under steep avalanche paths at these
elevations.
While the dense snow on the
surface is not very prone to drifting, southerly winds will transport some snow
today. (Photo-transport
from Monday) This means you should
watch for minor wind drifts at the higher elevation north facing slopes.
Bottom Line:
There is a MODERATE danger today mainly due to possible wet activity below
around 8,000 feet. Steep slopes and
terrain traps should be avoided at these locations. Watch upper elevation southerly slopes as
well if we see any periods of clearing during the day. Also, you will need to watch for some fresh
drifts on northerly facing aspects along the upper ridgelines.
Mountain Weather:
A winter storm is still scheduled to affect us today
through Wednesday. Today we’ll see
periods of snow with southerly winds in the 20 mph range increasing later this
afternoon. Ridgetop temperatures will be
in the upper 20s and near 40 at 8,000 feet.
Rain may be mixed with snow up to around 8,000’. More intense snow will start late this
afternoon and continue through Wednesday.
The storm could produce one to two inches of water which translates to
12 to 20 inches of snow by Wednesday night.
Announcements:
The Snowbasin Ski Patrol along with the Weber Country Sherrif Search and Rescue and the
Early birds and snow
geeks can catch our 6AM report at 364-1591.
Click here to check out our new online avalanche
encyclopedia.
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 flew in Silver, Days,
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.
Evelyn Lees will update this
advisory by 7:30 Wednesday morning. Thanks for calling.