Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Saturday - April 2, 2016 - 6:03am
bottom line

As the day heats up, expect the avalanche danger to rise to MODERATE. Human triggered wet slides and sluffs become possible on all steep slopes, especially during the heat of the day.




current conditions

Skies remained clear overnight, allowing temperatures to dip into the mid teens where the sit early this morning. Winds are light and northerly, blowing just 5-10 mph even along the highest peaks. Sun exposed terrain took on heat yesterday and will offer a variety of supportable and not so supportable crusts. But gain some vertical, swing over to upper elevation north facing slopes and you'll be rewarded with cold, dry snow.

Uinta weather station network info is found here.

Trip reports and observations are found here.

recent activity

No new avalanche activity to report.

Recent avalanche observations are found here

See or trigger an avalanche? Shooting cracks? Hear a collapse? It's simple. Go here to fill out an observation.

Avalanche Problem 1
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 24 hours
description

With clear skies and cold temperatures the avalanche danger is generally LOW this morning. However, the heat is gonna get cranked up today and as such, wet avalanches are the primary concern. Fortunately, wet slides and sluffs are easy to manage. If you're feeling like an ant under a magnifying glass... well, so is the snowpack. Remember- the sun is high in the sky, it's intense, and it's affecting all aspects and elevations. As the surface snow heats up or if you find yourself sinking into damp, manky snow, simply get off of and out from under steep sun-exposed slopes. Also, you'll want to avoid terrain traps like gullies and road cuts where cement-like, bone snapping debris can pile up very deeply.

weather

A ridge of high pressure prevails through the weekend giving us sunny skies, light winds, and temperatures climbing into the mid and upper 40's. Overnight lows dip to near freezing. A weak storm clips northern Utah late Sunday with another system slated for Monday. Neither look like they'll produce much in the way of snow.

general announcements

Remember your information can save lives. If you see anything we should know about, please participate in the creation of our own community avalanche advisory by submitting snow and avalanche conditions.   You can call me directly at 801-231-2170, email [email protected], or email by clicking HERE If Craig is unavailable you can reach his partner Trent at 801-455-7239, email [email protected] 

This is a great time of year to schedule a free avalanche awareness presentation for your group or club. You can contact me at 801-231-2170 or email [email protected]. To register for the first in our series of on-the-snow sled specific classes you can register here.

The information in this advisory is from the US Forest Service which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.

The information in this advisory expires 24 hours after the date and time posted, but will be updated by 7:00 AM on Sunday, April 3rd.