US Forest Service Manti-La Sal National Forest

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 Saturday, December 16th, 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:

We are entering a snowy period and the Radar is showing a little bit of precipitation in the Northern Part of the Skyline. Mammoth Cottonwood shows a trace of new snow while the Seely Creek site to the south isn’t showing anything yet. It is just a matter of time. The NWS is calling for 100% chances of Precipitation over the next few forecast periods, so it looks like it’s going to be a white Christmas. Expect the skiing, riding, sledding conditions to improve and the avalanche conditions to become more dangerous. Read or listen on for more details. Remember folks, it’s still early season out there with plenty of ground hazards!

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

Mammoth/Cottonwood SNOTEL (8,800’): 17.” Trace new, 22 degrees out @ 7:00 a.m.

Seeley Creek SNOTEL (10,000’): 15” on the ground, winds are light from the NW, 21 degrees @ 7:00 a.m.

Miller Flat Trailhead: 21” of snow on the ground.

Mountain Weather: SNOW ADVISORY IN EFFEFCT

Today: Snow...colder. Accumulation 1 to 3 inches. Highs at 8000 feet around 30. Chance of snow near 100 percent.
Tonight: Snow. Accumulation 2 to 4 inches. Lows at 8000 feet near 15. Chance of snow near 100 percent.
Sunday: Snow. Accumulation 1 to 3 inches. Highs at 8000 feet near 20. Chance of snow 90 percent.
Sunday night: Cloudy with snow likely. Accumulations possible. Lows at 8000 feet near 15. Chance of snow 60 percent.

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

Looks like the upper elevations could get more than a foot of snow out of this one and that snow will be falling on a weak, continental snowpack. Our current situation stands out in stark contrast to where we were last year. The winds are coming up and we are already reaching the upper limit of the MODERATE danger rating for avalanches and the trend is a rising hazard. Winds are already up and we have snow on the way. Problem areas right now will be east facing upper elevation ridgelines with wind drifted snow in downwind slopes. Cornice failures are also possible. I expect a pretty good spike in the avalanche hazard today if the forecast snow totals arrive. Remember, stay clear of avalanche runout zones and enter avalanche terrain one at a time. I’ll update this message Sunday morning

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