US Forest Service Manti-La Sal National Forest

 

 Introduction:

Good Morning, this is Max Forgensi with the USFS Manti-La Sal Avalanche Center 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 Sunday, January 15th, 2006 at 8:00 a.m.   

 

To check out past advisories, go to ARCHIVE.  To check out the current, go to our WEATHER page. 

NEW LINK!  If you have been out in the backcountry, please post your OBSERVATIONS with us!  If you would like to see some SNOWPIT profiles, click the link…and more to come. 

 

Current Conditions:

                The storm is starting to develop over the Manti-Skyline this morning, with 1”-3” of snow falling starting in the early morning hours.   A WINTER STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FROM TODAY UNTIL 5 AM MST MONDAY.    The UDOT crew has been working hard at maintaining the road and parking lots and the USFS has just made a cleaning run through all the facilities.  There will be plenty of snow falling up on the Skyline for the next 24 hours.  Today and tomorrow will be “game on” for avalanche conditions.  Snow and wind will be creating a sensitive and dangerous snow pack.  Today and tomorrow will be a good day to play in the meadows and on lower-angled slopes…let Mother Nature have the rest. 

 

Click the links below to find out up to date information at these weather stations on the Skyline. 

Mammoth/Cottonwood SNOTEL (8,800’):  41.2” of snow on the ground.  24 degrees at 6:00 a.m.

Seeley Creek SNOTEL (10,000’):  There is 27” of snow on the ground.  20 degrees at 6:00 a.m.

There is about 43” of snow on the ground at the Miller Flat Trailhead.

 

Mountain Weather: 

WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 AM MST MONDAY
Today...Snow...Colder. Accumulation 5-10 inches. Highs at 8000 feet in the mid 20s.
Tonight...Breezy. Snow in the evening...Then snow likely after midnight. Colder. Accumulation 1-3 inches. Lows at 8000 feet zero to 5 above. Northwest winds 15-25 mph.
Martin Luther King Jr Day...Mostly cloudy with a chance of snow in the morning...Then partly cloudy with a slight chance of snow showers in the afternoon. Highs at 8000 feet near 20. Chance of snow 30 percent.

 

Avalanche Conditions: (Click here for the International Avalanche Danger Scale)

The conditions currently on the ground combined with new stresses on the snow pack due to snow and wind will be increasing the avalanche danger as the storm progresses.  Steep slopes on North-Northeast-East aspects on all elevations will be where most cornices and wind deposits will develop…and that is where the chance of avalanches will be highest.  Natural avalanches usually occur during or just after a storm, especially when the receiving 12” of snow or greater (or 1” of water).  THIS IS THE TIME!  The BOTTOM LINE for today will be a avalanche danger of CONSIDERABLE on steep, wind-loaded aspects and where cornices are developing.  This danger rating could increase to HIGH by the late afternoon.  Remember a HIGH avalanche danger means that natural and human-triggered avalanches are likely. 

Be careful out there today and practice safe travel techniques. Carry an Avalanche Beacon, shovel and probe and know how to use them. If you don’t know or want to know more then we’d like to invite you to attend a Basic Avalanche Awareness and Field Day starting at the Carbon County Recreation Center, Price, Utah. 7 p.m. at the Rec Center on Friday evening January 20th, with a  Field day Saturday on the Skyline January 21st, 2006.
Basic Avalanche Awareness and Field Day
Carbon County Recreation Center, Price, Utah
7 p.m. at t Center (Friday), Field day Saturday on the Skyline

*The advisory is also available via recorded message at (800) 648-7433