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,
February 12, 2008 7:30 am
Good morning, this is Brett Kobernik with
the
Current Conditions:
Under partly cloudy
skies ridgetop temperatures are in the upper teens to low twenties. Ridgetop winds decreased since yesterday and
are from the west northwest averaging 5 to 10 mph gusting from 20 to 40 mph.
Snow and Avalanche Discussion:
Most backcountry
observations included good stability, poor snow conditions, large and somewhat
sensitive cornices. (Cornice
Extravaganza) One cornice that broke
in Porter Fork produced a fair sized debris pile but didn’t initiate a slab
avalanche. A more serious cornice
failure along the Manti Skyline did force a slab avalanche to release which
covered up snowmobile tracks from earlier.
Cooler temperatures during Monday compared to Sunday kept wet
activity confined to lower elevations with melt freeze crusts hardly
softening on many higher elevation southerly aspects.
While the overall
avalanche danger is generally low you will want to keep a few things in
mind. If you’re getting into terrain
where cornices have formed remember that these monsters are still somewhat
sensitive. The mild temperatures over
the last few days have added to their instability. Also, mild temperatures today will most
likely loosen the snow at lower elevations again making it wet and possibly
producing some small slides. Watch for
this mainly below 7000 feet in elevation.
Terrain traps such as gully bottoms are bad places to linger with these
conditions.
Bottom Line for the
The
avalanche danger is mostly LOW. Again, give the cornices a healthy respect, and watch for the snow
becoming damp and loose at elevations under around 7000 feet.
Mountain Weather:
Partly cloudy skies
this morning will yield to more clearing as the day goes on. Temperatures will reach the mid 30s at 8000
feet and into the mid 20s along the higher ridges. Winds speeds will decrease as the day goes on
and will be from the northwest. A cold
front should push through mid day on Wednesday and produce some new snow. This is not a real powerful storm but could
produce 6 inches or better. A ridge of
high pressure keeps storms out of the picture through the weekend and into next
week.
Announcements
Yesterday, Wasatch Powderbird Guides did
not fly due to high winds and will shoot for
There are a few spots left in the Friends of the
For folks with an Alta pass,
ACE (Alta Community Enrichment) is offering an avalanche awareness class the
evening of Feb 12 and 13, and ½ day the 16th, for $25. Pre Register at [email protected].
If you want to get this
avalanche advisory e-mailed to you daily click HERE.
UDOT highway avalanche control work info can be
found by calling (801) 975-4838.
Our statewide tollfree line is 1-888-999-4019 (early morning, option 8).
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 our Friends page.
If you see any avalanches or interesting snow conditions, please leave us 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.
Evelyn Lees will update this advisory by 7:30 on Wednesday morning.