US Forest Service Manti-La
Sal National Forest
Snow, Weather and Avalanche Advisory
Introduction:
Good Morning, this is Max Forgensi with
the USFS Manti-La Sal Avalanche Center with your with your avalanche and
mountain weather advisory for the Wasatch Plateau/Manti Skyline Region,
including, but not limited to Ephraim, Huntington and Fairview Canyons. This advisory is brought to you through
a partnership of Utah State Parks and the USFS. Today is Friday, March 25th, 2005 at
10:00 am.
Current
Conditions:
Snow! Winter is back with a
SNOW ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM MST. 16” of snow has fallen on the
Skyline since Sunday, this could be your last chance for winter weather, go up
and enjoy the Skyline this weekend.
With all this snow, the avalanche danger be a serious threat. Read on to learn more.
Mammoth/Cottonwood
SNOTEL: 57” of snow on
the ground.
Seeley Creek
SNOTEL: There is 52” of snow on the ground. It is currently 23 degrees at 6:00
am.
Mountain
Weather:
SNOW ADVISORY IN EFFECT
UNTIL 4 PM MST THIS AFTERNOON
Today...Breezy.
Snow showers. A slight chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Accumulation
2-6 inches. Highs at 8000 feet in the upper 20s. Northwest winds 15-25 mph in
the afternoon. he Northwest at
15-25. Chance of precipitation is
60%.
Tonight...Breezy. Snow showers likely and a
slight chance of thunderstorms in the evening...Then a chance of snow showers
after midnight. Mostly cloudy. Accumulation about 1 inch. Lows at 8000 feet
10-15. Northwest winds 15-25 mph. Chance of precipitation 60 percent.
Saturday...Partly cloudy. Highs at 8000 feet
in the mid 30s.
Avalanche
Conditions:
16” of snow
will definitely have an effect on the avalanche danger, reports of denser snow
overlying lighter snow in the North will probably be found on the Skyline. No snow has been recorded at the SNOTEL
sites in the past 24 hours, although there is a chance for snow throughout the
day coupled with strong winds out of the Northwest. Snow will be transporting, creating
tender cornices on Southeast through East aspects and creating wind slabs as
well. The wind direction is coming
out of the Northwest, a direction that we haven’t seen in quite some time. What this means is that cornice
development and wind slabs will be in places we haven’t seen much this
year.
Northeast-East-Southeast slopes will hold most of these
concerns. The Bottom Line for
today for the Skyline, I am going to rate the avalanche danger at
MODERATE,
with pockets of
CONSIDERABLE on steep
slopes greater than 35 degrees on NE-E-SE slopes. Visibility will be decreased for
the traveler today, especially on top of the ridges, use extra caution so you
don’t fall off unexpectedly.