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 Friday, March 23rd, 2007 at 6:00 p.m.    

             

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

 

  

General Conditions:

               Rapid snow loss has been noted across the state with all the sunny weather we’ve been having. Is seems like the Wasatch Plateau/Manti Skyline region got 
more snow than the SLC or Moab Mountains collecting 3-4 inches up high on Thursday morning.  We measured 3” at the Miller Flat Trailhead. Our study plot there has been 
removed until next season.  The new snow didn’t fare too well against yesterday’s solar rays and temperatures that got into the 50’s. Expect melt freeze conditions out there 
with whatever new snow we can coax out of the small system tonight. Snow totals, if any will be small. Hurry up and get out there folks, if fun on the snow is what you are 
after. We are down to 39% of normal snowpack on the season at the Mammoth-Cottonwood and Seely Creek SNOTEL sites. This snowpack won’t last much longer. 
 
 

Mountain Weather:

Tonight: Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of thunderstorms and snow showers in the evening...then partly cloudy after midnight. Lows at 8000 feet in the mid 20s.
Saturday: Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of showers. Highs at 8000 feet in the upper 40s.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows at 8000 feet in the upper 20s.
Sunday: Partly cloudy. Highs at 8000 feet in the lower 50s.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy. Lows at 8000 feet in the upper 20s.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Weather Station/ Location

Snow Depth (HS):  in./cm

New Snow (HN) in./cm

5:00 p.m. Temp (F)

Current Observations:  Wind, 48 hour snow

Mammoth/Cottonwood SNOTEL (8,800’):

21.7

0”  (3-4” Thursday)

42.8

Melt-freeze

Seeley Creek SNOTEL (10,000’):

15.6

0”  (3-4” Thursday)

37.8

Winds light westerly

Candland Peak

37”

0”  (3-4” Thursday)

32.8

8 mph southerly

Miller Flat Trailhead: 

32”

0”  (3” Thursday)

~

Wet Spring Conditions

 

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

            Rotten, Punchy conditions still exist below whatever crusts lie on the surface of the snowpack and there is very little, if any, dry snow left along the Skyline. What had been a rotten mess of sugary, dry crystals has now been replaced by a rotten mess of damp to wet crystals topped of by the previous night’s freeze crust. The common characteristic that these two snowpacks share is the incredible amount of pore space between grains in the snowpack and the weakness inherent with faceted grains. The previously dry faceted grains are now wet faceted grains, leaving them even weaker than before with water now breaking down any sintering (bonding) between grains that might have occurred. The saving grace of our current situation is that we’ve been getting a decent freeze every night for the last few nights which limits the wet slides to a daily afternoon cycle and usually prohibits the BIG ONE from forming. There’s been some big ones (wet slabs) this spring across the state, so if things are getting really sloppy and warm, stay off the steeps. We are calling the avalanche danger LOW rising to MODERATE as daytime heating progresses tomorrow.  We’ll update this message Sunday morning. Thanks for checking in.