Uintas Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Craig Gordon

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Sunday, April 15th will be the last of our regularly scheduled advisories for the western Uinta's. I will update this page midweek with some general information for safe spring riding.


BOTTOM LINE

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


Danger Rose Tutorial

The avalanche danger is generally LOW this morning, but will be rising to MODERATE during the heat of the day. As the snowpack heats up, human triggered avalanches will be possible on all steep sun exposed slopes.


CURRENT CONDITIONS

Snow showers moved into the region late yesterday afternoon, quickly stacking up about 3”-4” of new snow. Currently, skies are partly cloudy and temperatures in the mid 20’s. West and northwest winds spiked into the 40’s overnight, but have since backed off and are blowing in the 20’s and 30’s along the ridges. Surprisingly good riding and turning conditions will be found this morning on upper elevation north facing slopes.


RECENT ACTIVITY

A few manageable sluffs running on the old melt freeze snow surface were reported on sustained, steep slopes at upper elevations. Otherwise it’s been pretty quiet.

Click here to view recent observations.


THREAT #1

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

Despite the overall lack of snow, we found surprisingly good riding conditions this week on a “go anywhere” supportable base.

In general the avalanche danger is LOW this morning, but once the strong springtime sun comes out for just a few minutes the new snow will soak up a lot of heat. While mostly manageable in size, today’s new snow sluffs will be damp and can fan out as they descend a slope. Slow moving and predictable, wet sluffs stack up more cement-like debris than you might expect, so you'll want to avoid slopes that have terrain traps at the bottom.

While more the exception than the rule, avalanches can break to weak layers of snow near the ground, especially on steep, rocky slopes that have remained thin all season. Wet avalanches are easy to avoid though. If the snow is getting wet, manky, and unsupportable, or if you’re seeing avalanches on the same kinds of slopes you wanna ride, simply call it a day and move onto other activities.


MOUNTAIN WEATHER

A moist, northwest flow will bring occasional snow showers into the region again late this afternoon, but it doesn’t look like much accumulation. High temperatures reach into the mid 30’s and winds should continue to diminish. Under clear skies this evening, overnight lows dip into the low 20’s. Short-lived high pressure is slated for Monday and then a weak system brings a threat of showers back to the area Monday night and Tuesday.


GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

The information in this advisory expires 24 hours after the date and time posted.

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


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.