We've got two avalanche education events this week – a FREE women's avalanche beacon clinic 9 am Monday morning at Alta, and a FREE avalanche awareness talk at the SL REI on Tuesday at 7 pm. Check out our calendar off the HOME page for more details on all the upcoming events.

Although the snowpack is mostly stable this morning, hazard should increase through the day as snow accumulates, especially in places with recent deposits of wind drifted snow. The danger should rise to MODERATE by this afternoon or evening with both sluffs and soft slabs on the old, slick snow surface. Especially watch for recent wind drifting on steep slopes along the ridge tops.

We have light snow showers just starting this morning with temperatures in the lower 20's. The old snow conditions are in bad need of some refreshment. The old snow surface is 2-4 inches of light, recrystallized powder on top of a rain crust, which sits on weak, faceted snow. Total snowpack depths are only about 2 feet on the north facing slopes in the Salt Lake area mountains with very little snow on the south facing slopes. Areas outside the Salt lake area mountains only have about a foot of total snow. Check out Doug Wewer's photos from the Ben Lomond area in Ogden. Also check out my YouTube video of field work yesterday in White Pine in Little Cottonwood Canyon.

There was no activity from yesterday reported from either the backcountry or the resorts.

The storm should bring 6-12 inches of new snow by midnight tonight and it will come in two pieces. We will get about 3 inches this morning as the front arrives, then a break for a sucker hole in the middle of the day, with a cold pocket of unstable air arriving this afternoon and evening. Ridge top winds will blow 15-20 from the northwest with ridge top temperatures will drop from the mid 20's to around 9 degrees overnight. Ridge top winds should turn northerly tonight, which should cut off most precipitation except for the Oquirrh Mountains.

Tuesday and Wednesday should be partly cloudy and cold and we have a rest period for the rest of the week. But the big news is that the longer range models continue to insist that we will have a major change in the pattern with a potentially significant snow storm for next weekend.

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UDOT highway avalanche control work info can be found by calling (801) 975-4838. Our statewide toll free line is 1-888-999-4019 (early morning, option 8).

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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 uac@utahavalanchecenter.org. (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 forecast by 7:30 on Tuesday morning.