US Forest Service Manti-La Sal National
Forest
Introduction:
Good Morning, this is Max Forgensi
with the
To
check out past advisories, go to ARCHIVE. To check out the current, go to our WEATHER page.
Current
Conditions:
Snow is expected up on the
Manti-Skyline from today all the way through the New Year and into early next
week. The warm weather that preceded these system left a sun crusts on all aspects except for
high elevation shaded northerly aspects.
We received 12” of snow so far from early this week, and the riding and
skiing conditions are really shaping up.
Obviously, with additional snow and strong winds, the avalanche
conditions are going to change, so read on.
The road has ice and snow in
spots. Due to the increase in traffic up
on the Skyline, please drive slowly and park as efficiently as you can.
Click the links below to find out
up to date information at these weather stations on the Skyline.
Mammoth/Cottonwood SNOTEL
(8,800’): 31.1” of snow on the ground.
Seeley Creek SNOTEL (10,000’):
There is 19.6” of snow on the ground.
There is about 30” of snow on the ground at the Miller Flat Trailhead.
Mountain
Weather:
Rest Of
Today...Periods of snow developing. Accumulation 1-3
inches. Highs at 8000 feet in the mid 30s.
Tonight...Cloudy with snow likely. Accumulation 2-4 inches. Lows at 8000 feet
in the lower 20s. Chance of snow 60 percent.
Southwest winds 10-20 mph.
Saturday...Windy...Snow. Accumulation 2-4
inches. Highs at 8000 feet in the upper 30s.
Southwest winds 20-30 mph.
Saturday Night...Windy...Snow. Accumulations
possible. Lows at 8000 feet near 20. West winds
20-30 mph.
Avalanche
Conditions: (Click here for the International
Avalanche Danger Scale)
No natural avalanches were observed Thursday, as the warm weather we received after Monday night’s 10”-12” really helped strengthen the upper snowpack. Only a few rollerballs were observed on westerly aspects. These occurred during that warm up when the new snow lost its cohesion, rolling down the hill and making “rollerballs”. There is widespread crust all over the Skyline, except for on shady, upper elevation Northerly aspects. This breakable crust could give us some problems in the future.
What do you have to look out for? The winds during and after the last significant snowfall event came in from the North-Northwest. This deposited snow on the leeward sides of slopes and ridges and onto mostly Southeast facing aspects. Another area of concern is still our steep upper elevation Northerly aspects. Depth hoar facets make for a potential of deep slab instability. Getting this layer to fail might be tough, but if it is triggered the consequences would be bad.
The BOTTOM LINE for today is going to be an avalanche danger rating of MODERATE, on steep slopes (greater than 35 degrees) on all aspects of the Skyline. Expect this to increase to CONSIDERABLE as more snow falls and more wind blows.
*The advisory is also
available via recorded message at (800) 648-7433