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
Thursday,
January 03, 2008 7:30 am
Good morning, this is Bruce Tremper with
the
Current Conditions:
You should
enjoy the snow while you can today because we have a huge wind storm coming in
Friday night and Saturday. Yesterday, with
temperatures near 40 in the mountains yesterday and just under freezing this
morning, the south facing slopes have a sun crust on them. Southerly winds yesterday created some
localized wind damage along the ridges.
The non-sun and wind affected snow is dense, creamy and supportable.
Avalanche Discussion:
Although
there were no human triggered avalanches in the backcountry yesterday, there
continues to be some scary explosives-released avalanches from the resorts. For
instance, in Little Cottonwood Canyon yesterday, an avalanche released sympathetically
200 feet away from an avalauncher shot.
It broke 2’ deep, 150’ wide on a E-NE facing slope at 10,500’ on a layer
of mid-pack faceted snow that formed during the past month. There was a similar result from the
Today you will also need to watch for wind slabs along the upper elevation
ridges created from 25 mph southwest winds yesterday and they will continue to
build today.
Finally, the most important news: we have a very strong storm for Friday night
in to Saturday, which will bring 50-60 mph southwest winds, rain at lower
elevations and dense snow at higher elevations.
Expect an avalanche warning and wild weather for Saturday.
Bottom Line for the
The
avalanche danger remains MODERATE on slopes steeper than about 35 degrees,
with several potential avalanche problems.
You will find wind drifts and cornices, along upper elevation ridges, damp
sluffs on south facing slopes, and the isolated potential of deeper, larger
avalanches at many aspects and elevations, especially in thinner snowpack
areas. The
Mountain Weather:
Today should be warm
again with temperatures near freezing, high clouds and ridge top winds around
25 from the southwest. On Friday, we will have increasing ridge top winds and
light showers. Friday night and Saturday
ridge top winds will be nuking from the southwest at speeds of 50-60 with much
higher gusts. We will likely get a foot
or more of dense snow at upper elevations with rain below about 7,000’. By Saturday night, temperatures will drop
into the teens and winds will drop.
Then we have another pulse on Sunday and Monday and yet another on Wednesday,
but both of these disturbances will have much less wind.
Announcements
Yesterday the Wasatch Powderbird Guides in Days, Silver, Grizzly and American
Fork. Today 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.
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 UAC depends on contributions
from users like you to support our work. To find out more about how you
can support our efforts to continue providing the avalanche forecasting and
education that you expect, please visit http://www.avalanche.org/~uac/fuac-welcome.htm
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.