THIS AVALANCHE WARNING IS FOR ALL THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTHERN UTAH. HEAVY SNOWFALL WITH STRONG WIND IS CAUSING NATURAL AVALANCHES TO OCCUR. MORE SNOW IS EXPECTED DURING THE DAY TODAY. THE AVALANCHE DANGER IS HIGH. THE AVALANCHE DANGER WILL MOST LIKELY STAY ELEVATED OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. BACKCOUNTRY TRAVEL IS NOT RECOMMENDED. IF YOU CHOOSE TO GO INTO THE BACKCOUNTRY, STAY OFF OF AND OUT FROM UNDER ALL SLOPES OF 30 DEGREES OR STEEPER AND STAY OUT OF TERRAIN TRAPS SUCH AS GULLIES.

Elvis has not left the stadium… due to the severity of this late winter storm, he decided to come back for an encore and will issue a couple more advisories ‘til the dust settles.

At mid and upper elevations the avalanche danger is HIGH and both natural and human triggered avalanches are likely. Avalanches triggered today will be large and dangerous. In lower elevation terrain the avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE on any steep, wind drifted slope and human triggered avalanches are probable.

This has been some storm for the western Uinta’s and snow totals are starting to stack up. In the past 24 hours Chalk Creek received 16”, there’s 14” at Hayden Pass, a foot at Smith-Moorehouse and Trial Lake, and 8” at Daniels. Winds are nuking, blowing 50-70 mph along the ridges. Temperatures are in the low to mid teens.

Visibility has been limited the past few days, though I suspect the place is coming unglued. Click here for recent observations.

A cold, moist northwest flow will continue through tonight in wake of yesterday’s cold front. This is usually a good setup for the North Slope and we can expect an additional 4”-6” of snow throughout the day, before the action starts to wind down. West and northwest winds are going to be an issue, blowing in the 30’s and 40’s with gusts in the 60’s and 70’s along the high ridges. High temperatures reach into the upper 20’s and under clearing skies overnight lows crash to near zero. Clear and cold for Wednesday, then rapid warming occurs Thursday as strong high pressure builds.

The information in this advisory expires 24 hours after the date and time posted, but will be updated by 7:00 AM Wednesday April 7, 2010.

If you’re getting out and about and trigger an avalanche or see anything interesting please drop us an email at craig@utahavalanchecenter.org or call 801-231-2170

Also, we've installed two beacon checkers exclusively for snowmobiler's- one at the Noblett's Trailhead, the other at the Bear River Trailhead. Thanks to Backcountry Access, the Bear River Lodge for donating one of the units and the great folks at the National Weather Service for their partnership, support and hard work making this project happen. Click here for a brief tutorial.