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
Wednesday,
December 26, 2007 7:30 am
Good morning, this is Brett Kobernik with
the
Current Conditions:
The second
avalanche fatality in
Temperatures
dipped below freezing at a number of mountain locations last night but have been
on the rebound for a number of hours.
Winds slowed yesterday but increased slightly at the upper elevations overnight
and are now in the 10 to 15 mph range gusting into the 30s at the most exposed
locations.
Avalanche Discussion:
There was natural slab
and loose snow avalanche activity during the previous windy snow event Monday
night. By Christmas morning this natural
activity had passed and the wind slabs were becoming more stubborn. Most people out in the backcountry reported
mostly stable conditions within the newest snow during the day on Tuesday. Control work at the ski resorts on Tuesday brought
out a few avalanches that broke into old snow as well as numerous wind slabs.
For today we will see
a rising avalanche danger as snow starts to pile up. Winds shouldn’t be as much of a factor as the
last storm but keep in mind that most natural avalanche activity occurs during
the storms. Watch for periods of intense
snowfall as avalanche conditions can change rapidly when we see snowfall rates
in the 2 inch per hour range for a few hours.
I need to continue to
mention the possibility of triggering a slide into older weak snow as well. Areas where the snowpack is deep such as the
upper Cottonwoods show improvement with the underlying weak snow. However, I do not trust those slopes just
yet. Areas where the snowpack is shallower
are more suspect. Keep in mind that the
snow in the high north aspects went through an entire month with weather
conditions ripe for faceting or weakening the snow. This is longer then we usually see and we
should treat it as conditions that we’re not always use to. Expect the unexpected.
Bottom Line for the
The
avalanche danger will be on the rise today and through the night. The avalanche danger starts out at MODERATE
for people triggering recent wind drifts as well as slides breaking in to old
snow. Wind drifts are found mostly on easterly
facing upper elevation slopes and the areas breaking into older snow are the
upper elevation northerly facing slopes.
Avalanches breaking into old snow have very serious consequences. The danger will most likely rise to
CONSIDERABLE as the day progresses and the snow piles up.
Mountain Weather:
A cold winter storm
will start affecting our area this morning with the passage of a weak cold front
around mid morning. A period of cold
unstable air should produce good orographic lift producing a good shot of snow
today through Thursday morning.
Conditions will be favorable for lake enhancement. A foot to a foot and a half of snow is expected. Locally higher amounts wouldn’t be a surprise
with cooperation from the lake. Snow
densities will be low.
Announcements:
Wasatch Powderbirds did not fly due to weather on Tuesday. They will be in
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.
I will update this advisory by 7:30 on Thursday
morning.