US Forest Service Manti-La Sal National Forest

Introduction:

Good morning, this Dave Medara 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, December 10th, 2006, at 7:30 am.

If you have been out in the backcountry, please post your OBSERVATIONS with us!

To check out past advisories, go to ARCHIVE.

To check out the current weather, go to our WEATHER page.

For more information on snowmobiling on the Skyline, click this LINK

Current Conditions:

A storm that is currently moving into SW Utah should lay down a fresh blanket of new snow throughout the state and change the state of affairs in the Utah Mountains. We are currently skiing and riding on a rotten, shallow base of weak snow that is not going handle the load of new snow very well. Read or listen on for more details about that situation. Hopefully this will bring a change to our current snow situation. But keep in mind that cover is still thin and ground hazards are lurking out there!

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

Mammoth/Cottonwood SNOTEL (8,800’): 15.” on the ground, 23 degrees out @ 7:00 a.m.

Seeley Creek SNOTEL (10,000’): 13” on the ground, winds are light from the NW, 15 degrees @ 7:00 a.m.

Miller Flat Trailhead: 16” of snow on the ground

Mountain Weather:

Today: Partly cloudy with a slight chance of snow in the morning...then snow in the afternoon. Accumulation 2 to 5 inches. Highs at 8000 feet around 30. Chance of snow 80 percent.
Tonight: Snow likely in the evening...then snow after midnight. Accumulation 4 to 8 inches. Lows at 8000 feet near 15. Chance of snow 80 percent.
Monday: A chance of snow in the morning...then a slight chance of snow in the afternoon. Mostly cloudy. Highs at 8000 feet around 30. Chance of snow 50 percent.
Monday night: Partly cloudy. Lows at 8000 feet near 10.

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

Ok folks. Listen up. The snowpack on the Wasatch Plateau is very weak at the moment. When snow sits around for a long time under high pressure it re-crystallizes into an uncohesive, sugary layer of snow grain called facets. We have had this situation up on the skyline for most of the early winter and each layer of new snow has been metamorphosed by clear skies and a process known as temperature gradient metamorphism. The currently weak snowpack that blankets the Manti-Skyline right now is not going to require much new snowfall to produce widespread avalanche activity. Right now, the avalanche danger rating remains at LOW, but don’t expect it to stay that way. The snow forecast for tonight and tomorrow is likely to produce a large spike in the avalanche danger so HEADS UP!! Make conservative informed decisions in this new snow. It may save your life. Call the avalanche center at 435-636-3363 if you have more questions.

The advisory is also available via recorded message at (888) 999-4019 option 6 or at (800) 648-7433 (OHV-RIDE)