Uintas Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Craig Gordon

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Huge thanks to Ted Scroggin for braving yesterdays, finger numbing Northeast wind and putting forth a Herculean, one man effort to maintain the Uinta weather station network. Ted’s truly one of a kind and a great asset to our community and our team!

Plowing on the Mirror Lake Highway is done for the season, maintenance on Wolf Creek Pass continues. In either case, be aware the Uinta snowpack is much weaker than you might find in neighboring mountains to the east.


BOTTOM LINE

Danger by aspect and elevation on slopes approaching 35° or steeper.
(click HERE for tomorrow's danger rating)


Danger Rose Tutorial

In the wind zone at and above treeline, a Level 2 (Moderate) avalanche danger exists. Human triggered avalanches are possible, especially on steep slopes with recent deposits of wind drifted snow. In addition, avalanches can break into deeper buried weak layers, creating a much larger slide than you might have bargained for.

Out of the wind and at lower elevations the avalanche danger is generally a Level 1 (Low) danger.


CURRENT CONDITIONS

A cold front dropping out of the northwest will impact the region today, bringing a much need coat of white paint. Clouds are beginning to stream into the area and temperatures are in the upper teens and low 20’s. West and northwest winds picked up around 3:00 this morning are blowing 15-30 mph with gusts in the 40’s and 50’s along the high ridges. Riding and turning conditions remain grim.


RECENT ACTIVITY

No recent avalanche activity to report.

Click here for recent observations from around the range.


THREAT #1

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

Gusty winds will drift snow along the leeward side of upper elevation ridges, forming slabs sensitive to the weight of a rider. As new snow begins to stack up, today’s slabs will become more widespread and more sensitive, especially as the day wares on. Avalanches triggered today will break wider and deeper than you might expect, revealing all the nasty obstacles barely hidden under this thin façade of snow. Today you'll want to look for and avoid any fat looking rounded pillow of snow, particularly if they sound or feel hollow like a drum.


THREAT #2

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
No probability identified.
No size identified.
No trend identified.

Our snowpack is extremely weak and rotten to the core. Strong winds have formed a cohesive slab on top of this house of cards and avalanches triggered today can break into weak sugary snow near the ground. Steep, rocky, upper elevation terrain is suspect and needs to be approached with caution. Above all, think about the season ending consequences of triggering a slide.


MOUNTAIN WEATHER

Today’s much anticipated cold front will race through the region and we should see snow starting to develop by late morning. It’s not a big storm, but we can expect 2”-4” by day’s end. West and northwest winds will be gusty, blowing into the 20’s and 30’s with gusts into the 50’s along the high ridges. Temperatures are gonna be chilly, dropping into the teens as the front slides through the area and diving into the single digits overnight. Snow showers linger on Thursday, but accumulations will be light. High pressure returns for Friday with warmer temperatures on tap.


GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

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

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

Also, now is a great time to schedule one of our free avalanche awareness presentations for your group or club. Email or call me and we’ll get you booked before things get too crazy.


This information does not apply to developed ski areas or highways where avalanche control is normally done.  This advisory is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.


This advisory provided by the USDA Forest Service, in partnership with:

The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center, Utah Division of State Parks and Recreation, Utah Division of Emergency Management, Salt Lake County, Salt Lake Unified Fire Authority and the friends of the La Sal Avalanche Center. See our Sponsors Page for a complete list.