Wasatch Cache and Uinta National Forests

In partnership with: Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center, The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center and Utah State Parks.

Avalanche advisory

Sunday, March 23, 2003

Good Morning. This is Craig Gordon with the Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center with your avalanche and mountain weather advisory for the western Uinta Mountains including but not limited to the terrain surrounding Chalk Creek, Smith-Moorehouse, the Mirror Lake Highway, and Woodland. Recent observations near Daniels and on the Evanston side of the range indicate similar snowpack conditions.

This advisory is made possible through a generous grant provided by Utah State Parks and will be available for the rest of the winter on weekends and holidays.

Today is Sunday, March 23, 2003, and it’s 7:30 in the morning.

Current Conditions:

Under cloudy skies, overnight low temperatures have been in the low 30’s at 10,000’ and near 40 degrees at 8,000’. Southwesterly winds picked up during the night and hourly wind speed averages are in 20’s with gusts in the low 50’s at the most exposed locations. With such a marginal refreeze of the snowpack riding and turning conditions could be less than ideal today. To avoid a lot of frustration it might be the kind of day to stick to the packed roads or take the skate skis out for a spin.

Avalanche Conditions:

A day of transition is on tap as we await the arrival of another storm. The main avalanche concern for today is the ongoing possibility of wet avalanche activity. Normally we expect wet slides to occur with direct sunlight and afternoon heating. We probably won’t see a whole lot of sunshine today and afternoon high temperatures will be kept to a minimum, though the combination of cloud cover and warm overnight temperatures could make up for these missing ingredients. While today’s wind will help to keep the snow surface cool and might actually provide some semi-supportable conditions for a while, it’s positive effects won’t be felt deeper in the snowpack where it’s needed. So if the snow that you’re traveling on is becoming wet, sloppy, or unsupportable it’s time to get off of and out from under steep slopes.

Another avalanche consideration we need to keep in the back of our minds is our problem child, the weak facets near the ground. This is especially apparent in steep, rocky terrain where the snowpack is shallow. Avalanches failing on old snow near the ground are becoming more isolated in nature, though snowpit stability tests continue to reveal clean shears near the ground in this type of terrain. While a number of folks have been able to get into some of the more bold terrain without incident, I’d continue to be wary of steep rocky terrain, breakovers, and slopes that have already avalanched this season.

Bottom Line:

At all elevations the danger of wet avalanches is MODERATE today on all steep slopes. Should the sun come out for any length of time or if temperatures don’t cool off as forecast, the avalanche danger could rise to CONSIDERABLE.

There is also a MODERATE or localized danger of triggering a deeper avalanche on weak snow near the ground on steep, upper elevation, northwest through east facing slopes. Human triggered avalanches are possible especially on rocky slopes with a weak, shallow snowpack.

Mountain Weather:

A Pacific storm will move through Idaho today and the cold front associated with this system will pass through our region late this afternoon. Today we can expect mostly cloudy skies with a chance of a flurry or two. Temperatures should be dropping slightly throughout the day with highs at 10,000’ in the low 30’s and at 8,000’ near 40 degrees. Overnight lows will be in the low 20’s. Winds will be out of the southwest at speeds of 15-30 mph with higher gusts possible in the more exposed locations. Late tonight winds will switch to the northwest and we should see a decent shot of snow that will linger into Monday. Storm totals could be in the 6”-10” range. Skies should clear out late Monday and a weak ridge builds for Tuesday providing partly cloudy skies. From Wednesday through the end of the week the weather looks unsettled with a chance of snow each day.

General Information:

If you’re getting out and about please let us know what you’re seeing, especially if you see or trigger an avalanche. Call 1-800-662-4140, or 801-231-2170, or email to [email protected] or fax to 801-524-6301. Your observations could help to save someone’s life. I’ve received some great observations this past week and thanks to those of you who called in with timely snowpack and avalanche information. Please keep them coming!

We will be offering free snowmobile specific avalanche education this year. To schedule a talk and or a field day please call 801-231-2170.

The information in this advisory is from the U.S. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content.

This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.

I will update this advisory by 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 29, 2003.

Thanks for calling!