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
Monday,
April 03, 2006 7:30 am
Good morning, this is Drew Hardesty with
the
Current Conditions:
With the next impressive
looking storm on its way, temperatures are on an upward march and the southerly
winds have started to pick up. The
southeasterly winds averaged 25-30mph with gusts to 45 for most of the night
and freezing levels hover around the 9000’.
At least on Tuesday it’ll rain to near 9500’ and be even windier. Never fear, the storm looks impressive into
early Thursday.
Recent Avalanche Activity & Snowpack Discussion:
The poor bond of Saturday
and Saturday night’s wind drifts was accentuated by the warming trend yesterday
and avalanche activity remained brisk into the afternoon. It may have been borderline ‘considerable’
with the 8+ reported human triggered slides from the backcountry including
three close calls. Skiers were caught in
carried in Day’s Draw, the
A few wind drifts along the
lee ridge and subridges will still remain active at
the upper elevations today. Moderate to
strong ridgetop winds will have moved some more snow around overnight and the
same west through north through east facing aspects will be suspect. The same rules will apply. Cornice drops, slope cuts, and test slopes
will continue to reveal good information along with quick hand pits on
representative slopes.
The cloud cover and warm
overnight temperatures will spike the wet action today and allow the mid to
lower elevation shady slopes to get into the action. The cloud cover may vary depending on where
you are in the range, so watch for intensifying wet sluff and slab activity on
the steep saturated slopes, particularly when the sun shines through.
Bottom Line:
The avalanche danger remains MODERATE on steep upper
elevation wind drifted slopes. Non wind affected slopes have a mostly LOW
danger. The danger of wet activity on
the sunny aspects of all elevations and on the mid and low elevations of the
shady slopes is MODERATE this morning and may rise to CONSIDERABLE
with daytime heating.
Mountain Weather:
Overcast skies will thin
this afternoon and we may see some sun breaks by the afternoon. Winds will blow 20-25mph from the southwest
today. 8000’ highs will rocket into the
low 50’s as 10k temps jump to 35 degrees.
Precipitation will initially fall as rain tomorrow with heavy snow at
times through Thursday. 2-3” of
water/water equivalent may shape up to be 2+ feet of snow in favored
locales.
Announcements:
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 AF and the Sessions yesterday and may get
into the Cascade/AF/White Pine areas 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.
Brett Kobernik will update this
advisory by 7:30 Tuesday morning. Thanks for calling.