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
Tuesday,
December 25, 2007 7:30 am
Good morning, this is
Current Conditions:
The Wasatch are covered in a
fresh layer of white,
Much to the snowshoers and
skiers delight.
Why, just overnight, another
8-16 inches fell,
That makes 3 to 5 feet this
week – do tell!!
The powder will be deep, and
fluffy and light,
It’s the stuff in which
‘bilers and boarders like to take flight.
Overnight, with speeds in
the 40’s to 60’s, the northwesterly winds really blew,
Gusting and blowing from a
southwesterly direction, too.
Now wind speeds have dropped
into the 15 to 25 mph range,
Still fast, but from last
night’s strong speeds that’s quite a change.
The winds have shifted to
the north northwest,
And across the high ridges
are blowing their best.
With temperatures near five,
watch out for your nose,
Cold toes and cold fingers –
wear lots of clothes.
Yesterday, explosives let
loose one more deep slide,
And several sensitive wind
slabs were kicked off the mountain side.
So there are two avalanche
problems to worry about today,
Both new wind drifts and
weak facets will come into play.
First, for the new snow,
accompanied by the wind so strong,
Triggering a wind drift will
make your day go easily wrong.
The snow is drifted in the
upper terrain, along ridges and rocks,
But also at mid and low
elevations, anywhere the terrain the wind blocks.
The new snow and wind drifts
are common on slopes facing east,
But watch for crossloading,
only very sheltered low elevations have the least.
Sensitive cornices, drifts
from slope top to slope toe,
Stay off those steep wind
drifted slopes even down low.
Now the sugary facets near
the ground continue to be trouble,
They’re tricky, inconsistent;
any slide will create deep, deep rubble.
They’re on upper elevation
slopes – facing northwest, north, and northeast
Avoid those steep, shady
slopes - don’t tease the beast.
The facets could be
triggered in a thin, shallow, rocky spot,
They’ll break out deep and
wide, near the ground in the rot.
A small slide triggered
could start down the slope,
Break out an additional
slide much deeper than one would hope.
So, on steep and wind
drifted slopes and those of a northerly aspect - be wary!
The avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE, edging towards HIGH, which is scary.
Human triggered avalanches
are probable, natural slides could take place
Avoid getting caught, for
fresh tracks - it’s not a race.
With so much new snow,
avalanche conditions are serious out there,
Other steep slopes have a MODERATE danger, so take care.
But if you play on slopes
less steep than 35, fun can be had,
Enjoy the lower, wind
sheltered terrain, and you won’t be sad.
Light snow showers and
flurries will continue today,
Adding 1 to 3 inches this
morning in which to play,
By early afternoon, the sun
will peek out and the snow decrease,
Temperatures will stay
chilly, only to 15 degrees will they increase
Along the ridges, the
northerly winds will continue to flow,
In the 15 to 20 mph range
they will blow.
Along the highest ridges the
gusts to forty will be stout,
So bundle up warmly if
you’re out and about.
And for tomorrow, another
storm is on tap,
Bringing more snow and wind,
across the northern
Snow showers through
Thursday, more snow on Friday,
It’s going to be an
incredible beautiful snowy holiday.
So be careful as you enjoy
all the beautiful white,
We wish you all wonderful
holidays, and a safe return home tonight.
Avalanche Discussion:
Bottom Line for the
The
avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE today on steep, wind loaded slopes, which
will be found on a variety of elevations and aspects. The danger is also CONSIDERABLE on the upper elevation northwest, north
and northeasterly facing slopes. Other
steep slopes have a MODERATE danger for
new snow slides.
Mountain Weather:
Announcements:
Wasatch Powderbirds didn’t get out yesterday due to weather, and if the weather
allows they will be in …
For information on the Canyons avalanche fatality, click HERE.
For an avalanche education class list, updated 12/22/07, click HERE.
If you want to get this avalanche advisory e-mailed to you daily click HERE.
The UAC has temporary job openings for doing avalanche outreach in more rural
areas. Click HERE for info.
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 our classic text
advisory click HERE.
If you’re getting out and see anything we should know about please let us
know. You can leave a message 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.
Brett Kobernik will update this advisory
by 7:30 Wednesday morning.