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
“keeping
you on top”
AVALANCHE ADVISORY
Saturday,
March 31, 2007 7:30 am
Good morning, this is Evelyn Lees with
the
Current Conditions:
Skies are partly
cloudy this morning, and temperatures are pleasantly cool, in the low to mid 20’s
at most stations. Unfortunately, the westerly
winds kicked up last night, with the highest peaks averaging 40 to 45 mph,
gusting to 60. Luckily, with a laminar
flow, the speeds rapidly diminish with elevation, and at 10,000’ the hourly
averages are in the 10-20 mph range, with gusts 25 to 30. Cool temperatures and only intermittent, hit
and miss sun have generally preserved the 6 to 10” of settled powder from the
mid week storm. However, some sunny
slopes did get crusted, and there will be new wind damage, especially at the
higher elevations. But wind sheltered northerly
and most easterly facing slopes should have excellent powder this morning.
Avalanche Discussion:
Only minimal avalanche
activity was reported yesterday. A few very shallow
soft slabs, 2 to 6" deep and a few loose sluffs were triggered by
people on steep slopes. The brief appearance
of the sun also managed to trigger a few damp sluffs. With stronger winds and more sun today, avalanche
conditions will be trickier and more serious.
The winds have crashed
the powder party, creating sensitive drifts which are most widespread on
easterly facing slopes and along the higher ridgelines. Some of these drifts are large enough to
knock you off balance and take you for a ride.
In the wrong terrain, this could mean over a cliff, into trees, or a
burial in a terrain trap such as a gully.
Very careful slope cuts will be useful on many slopes, but the largest,
deepest drifts should be avoided. With the potential for a crowded day in the
backcountry, keep a careful eye out for people above and below you, so not to inadvertently
bury anyone below you, or get buried by the party above.
Wet sluffs and slabs
with daytime sun and heating are the second avalanche problem. As the snow heats from the first direct sun
in days and a 10 to 15 degree jump in temperatures, expect easily triggered wet
sluffs and a few damp slabs on steep, sun exposed slopes. The snow will heat up much more rapidly than
one would expect, so as soon as it warms, quickly move to a cooler aspect. Any periods of high thin clouds will heat the
surface snow on the northerly facing slopes, too, making it more sensitive.
Bottom Line for the
The avalanche danger
is MODERATE today on slopes steeper than about 35
degrees with recent deposits of wind drifted snow. These drifts will be most widespread on
northeast through southeasterly facing slopes along the higher ridgelines. The avalanche danger will rapidly rise to MODERATE on and below steep sunny slopes with direct sun and
daytime heating. Slopes less steep than
about 35 degrees have a generally LOW danger.
Mountain Weather:
Skies will be mostly
sunny this morning, and then cloud up again this afternoon as a weak system
approaches. The northwesterly winds
should gradually decrease throughout the morning, dropping into the 10 to 20
mph range and shifting to a more southwesterly direction. Temperatures will warm into the mid 40’s at
8,000’ and the upper 20’s at 10,000’. Mostly
cloudy skies tonight, with a few snow flurries possible as a weak system
crosses the area. A slightly stronger system
will send a cold front through the area Sunday night, with a chance for a few
inches of snow.
Announcements:
The Wasatch Powderbird
Guides didn’t fly yesterday and if they can fly today they’ll be in Silver,
Days, Cardiff, Mineral, Grizzly, White Pine, American Fork and Cascade. For
more info, call 742-2800.
The Canyons Professional Ski Partol Association is hosting a fundraiser
for the Friends of the
Listen to the
advisory. Try our new streaming audio or
podcasts
UDOT highway avalanche
control work info can be found HERE
or by calling (801)
975-4838.
Our
statewide tollfree line is 1-888-999-4019 (early morning, option 8).
For a list of avalanche
classes, click HERE
For our classic text advisory click HERE.
To sign up for automated e-mails of our graphical advisory click HERE
We appreciate all the great
snowpack and avalanche observations we’ve been getting, so keep leaving us
messages at (801) 524-5304 or 1-800-662-4140, or email us at [email protected]. (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 on Sunday morning, and
thanks for calling.