In partnership with: Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center, The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center and Utah State Parks.
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. Today is Saturday, March 13, 2004 and it’s
7:30 a.m.
Current conditions:
A weak, dry cold front moved through the region last
night and in its wake, skies have cleared and temperatures cooled off nicely.
Currently, temperatures are in the low to mid 20’ at most mountaintop locations
and are still falling. It’ll feel a little colder along the ridges where westerly
winds are clipping along at speeds of 10-20 mph with gusts near 30 mph at the
most exposed locations. Riding and turning conditions are quite good with
supportable corn on the sun- exposed slopes, and recrystalized powder on steep,
sheltered, shady slopes.
Avalanche Conditions:
Today’s cooler, northwesterly flow will provide a
bit of a reprieve from our recent bout of sweltering, shirtsleeve and bikini
wearing weather. The snowpack has been well behaved and is virtually locked in
place. With a solid refreeze overnight and cooler weather on tap for today the
surface snow will be a bit slower to soften. Be aware there are some “slide for
life” conditions out there on very steep slopes early in the morning. So while you’re
waiting to harvest the corn on the sunny slopes, you might want to check out
the northerly aspects where surprisingly good powder awaits.
Timing is everything this time of year. It’s best to
get on the snow early in the day when it’s supportable and follow the sun around
as it softens the snows surface. Once you find yourself sinking much past your
ankles in wet, gloppy snow, either move onto another aspect or get off the snow
entirely. Wet avalanches, while often slow moving, have the consistency of
cement and can pile up huge amounts of debris. You’ll want to avoid terrain traps
such as gullies and steep road cuts, especially late in the day.
Bottom Line:
The avalanche danger is generally LOW this morning rising to MODERATE with daytime heating, on
steep sun-exposed slopes. Human triggered avalanches will be possible as the
day wares on.
Mountain Weather:
A dry cold front will move south across the region today
giving us partly cloudy skies and cooler temperatures. Highs today at 10,000’
will be in the upper 20’s and at 8,000’ near 40 degrees. Overnight lows will
drop into the low 20’s. Winds will be out of the west and northwest at speeds
of 10-20 mph with a few stronger gusts along the highest ridges. On Sunday we
should see partly cloudy skies in the morning, then increasing clouds with a
chance of a flurry or two late in the day as another weak system clips the
northern portions of the state. High pressure builds for the rest of the week and
there are no big storms in sight.
General Information:
We can always use snow and avalanche information and
your snowpack and avalanche observations could help to save someone’s life. If
you see or trigger an avalanche give us a call at 801-231-2170 or
1-800-662-4140.
Also, if you’d
like to schedule a free avalanche awareness talk and/or field day give us a
call at 801-524-5304.
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 Sunday, Mar.14, 2004.
Thanks for
calling.