Salt Lake Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Evelyn Lees

BOTTOM LINE

Danger by aspect and elevation on slopes approaching 35° or steeper.
(click HERE for tomorrow's danger rating)


Danger Rose Tutorial

The avalanche danger is mostly LOW this morning, with pockets of MODERATE danger for triggering a shallow wind drift in steep, exposed terrain and for sluffs in very steep terrain. On steep, sun exposed slopes, the avalanche danger will rise to MODERATE with daytime heating.


CURRENT CONDITIONS

High pressure has brought clear skies and warming temperatures to the mountains. Mid elevation and ridgeline temperatures have crept from the single digits up into the teens. The westerly winds are light, with all stations averaging less than 15 mph. I have to be honest – compared to the weeks of epic powder, it’s definitely dust on crust conditions, with 1 to 5” of snow on a variety of hard, frozen crusts, ruts and avalanche debris. However, if you can find a place with a smooth old snow surface, especially on upper elevation northerly facing slopes, you may be pleasantly surprised. Also, as the sunny slopes soften later today, the spring like conditions could be good, too. There is a “slide for life” potential hidden beneath the thin veneer of new snow, so use caution if you travel on any steep slopes because of the very hard, icy conditions. (The Logan area mountains topped out at 10”, and have very good turning and riding conditions.)


RECENT ACTIVITY

Yesterday’s avalanche activity consisted of spotty, easily triggered shallow soft wind drifts, mainly in upper elevation terrain. They were generally less than 6” deep, and both along and off the ridge lines. Sluffs were easy to trigger, potentially a problem in continuously very steep terrain. Both are running on the old hard surfaces, and can go further than expected.


THREAT #1

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

After a cold, clear night, yesterday’s shallow, soft wind drifts will still be sensitive this morning. The drifts are both along and slightly off the ridgelines, and most widespread on slopes with an easterly component. These drifts are manageable as long as you’re not surprised, and stay on the uphill side of any that move.


THREAT #2

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 10 hours.

Today’s combination of sun and rapidly warming temperatures will quickly heat the cold new snow, making it easy to trigger damp sluffs on the steep, sun exposed terrain. As rocks heat up, a few natural sluffs may also be initiated below rock bands. Again, while initially very shallow, these sluffs may entrain snow and run further than expected due to the icy, hard surface beneath.


MOUNTAIN WEATHER

High pressure will bring a strong warming trend to the area today, with 8,000’ temperatures leaping to near 40, and 10,000’ temperatures approaching 30. The westerly winds will be light all the way to the ridge tops, generally in the 5 to 15 mph range. As the high shifts east on Sunday, a mild southwesterly flow will set up across northern Utah, lasting through midweek, bringing warm temperatures and partly cloudy skies. The mid range forecast models advertize colder, wetter weather near the end of next week.


GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Our web page is now mobile-friendly for users of iPhone and iPod Touch.

Yesterday, Wasatch Powderbird Guides skied in Cascade, Cardiff, and Days, with a home run down the Emmas’. Today they will be in Mineral, Cardiff, Days, Silver, Grizzly and White Pine, with a second ship in Cascade. Their operations planning page is here.

Beacon training parks are up and running! There is one at Snowbasin, one on the Park City side at the top of Canyon’s gondola toward the Tombstone lift, one in Little Cottonwood near the Snowbird parking structure on the bypass road, and in Big Cottonwood a training park is at the west end of Solitude's lower parking lot.

If you want to get this avalanche advisory e-mailed to you daily click HERE.

For a text only version, the link is on the left side bar, near the top.

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).

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 visitour Friends page.

Your snow and avalanche observations can save someone’s life. Please let us know what you're seeing by leaving 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.

Brett Kobernik will update this advisory by 7:30 tomorrow morning.


This information does not apply to developed ski areas or highways where avalanche control is normally done.  This advisory is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.


This advisory provided by the USDA Forest Service, in partnership with:

The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center, Utah Division of State Parks and Recreation, Utah Division of Emergency Management, Salt Lake County, Salt Lake Unified Fire Authority and the friends of the La Sal Avalanche Center. See our Sponsors Page for a complete list.