Salt Lake Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Bruce Tremper

AVALANCHE WARNING »

Dangerous avalanche conditions are occuring or are imminent. Backcountry travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended.
Notice:

I've issued a Special Avalanche Bulletin this morning for areas south of I-80. In areas with over a foot of new snow combined with wind, there is a CONSIDERABLEavalanche danger.


SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Little Cottonwood Canyon will be closed for avalanche control this morning.

News flash: Get them while you can, discounted Snowbird lift tickets are available HERE. We would like to thank Snowbird for the generous donation and 100 percent of the proceeds go to the Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center.


BOTTOM LINE

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


Danger Rose Tutorial

The backcountry avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE on any slope approaching 35 degrees or steeper with new snow depths over a foot deep on any slope with recent wind drifts. Some avalanches on mid elevation north through east facing slopes may step down into deeper weak layers. There is a MODERATE danger on any slope with less than about 8 of new snow without wind drifting.


CURRENT CONDITIONS

Yep, it’s official, this is a call-in-sick-for-work day. Storm totals for Alta are 17 inches this morning with storm totals expected to reach 2 feet for favored areas in the Salt Lake area mountain by mid day when the snow should turn more showery. Almost no snow fell in the Logan area mountains, just a few inches in the Ogden mountains, 9 inches in the Uintas, the Provo area mountains and central Utah. Ridge top winds were light overnight but they have picked up this morning and are blowing much harder from the northwest, 15, gusting to 30 on most ridgelines and 40, gusting to 60 on the highest peaks. Winds seem much more calm down off the ridges.


RECENT ACTIVITY

We did not hear about any human triggered avalanches from the backcountry yesterday with the exception of a few, shallow wind slabs from the very strong southeasterly winds. With all the new snow overnight and the increased wind this morning, there have been several natural avalanches recorded by the automatic infrasonic sensors above the road in Little Cottonwood Canyon.


THREAT #1

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 12 hours.

With copious new snow and increased wind this morning, expect the usual sluffing and soft slabs within the new snow. Some of these may break 2-3 feet deep in wind-affected areas and may be quite sensitive. As usual, put a good slope cut in before you commit to a slope and avoid all slopes with recent wind drifts. Out of the wind and on slopes with less than a foot of snow, the new snow should be fairly manageable.


THREAT #2

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

Our old friend, the buried surface hoar layer, will be partially reactivated with the weight of this new snow, so some of the new snow avalanches could easily step down another couple feet deep to these deeper weak layers. You’ll find these mostly at mid elevation, north through east facing slopes. There are also some weak crust-facet sandwiches on the south facing slopes as well.


MOUNTAIN WEATHER

The storm is wrapping around and bringing in moist, unstable air from the northwest. We should continue to pile up perhaps another 8 inches of new snow in places favored by northwest flow such as the Salt Lake area mountains. Ridge top winds will continue moderate and gusty at times from the northwest 10-20 with gusts to 30. Snow should taper off to showers after noon. Ridge top temperatures will remain near the mid teens.


GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

SLC: Please contact Alta Central (801-742-2033) if you trigger a large avalanche in the backcountry, especially if you are adjacent to a ski area, to alert them to the slide and whether anyone is missing or not. Rescue teams can be exposed to significant hazard when responding to avalanches, and do not want to do so when unneeded. Thanks.

Discount Lift tickets: Ski Utah, Backcountry.com, Alta, Deer Valley, Park City, The Canyons, Wolf Mountain, Snowbasin, Beaver Mountain, Brighton, Sundance, and Solitude have donated a limited number of tickets for sale at discounted prices.

Wasatch Powderbird Guides flight plan.

Dawn Patrol Forecast Hotline, updated by 05:30:888-999-4019 option 8.

Daily observations are frequently posted by 10 pm each evening.

Free UAC iPhone app from Canyon Sports.

Subscribe to the daily avalanche advisory e-mail click HERE.

UDOT canyon closures UDOT at (801) 975-4838

We appreciate all your avalanche and snow observations. You can also call us at 801-524-5304 or 800-662-4140, or fill out the observation form on our home page.

Donate to your favorite non-profit – The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center. The UAC depends on contributions from users like you to support our work.

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.

We will update this forecast tomorrow morning. Thanks for calling.


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.