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Forecast for the Provo Area Mountains

Drew Hardesty
Issued by Drew Hardesty on
Tuesday morning, April 9, 2024
With direct sun and heating, the danger for wet avalanches will rise to MODERATE (or higher) on all steep solar aspects.
HEADS UP! Increasing winds along the higher elevations will lead to changing conditions. Look for a developing MODERATE danger for wind drifted snow avalanches, primarily on steep north to east to south facing terrain.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
Learn how to read the forecast here
Weather and Snow
Skies are clear.
Mountain temperatures are in the upper 20s. Fun to note a slight drop in temperatures during the solar eclipse yesterday.
Winds are generally light from the west northwest, except along the highest ridgelines, where hourly wind speeds have slowly increased to 15-20mph.
Northerly aspects remain cold and dry while many solar aspects will be slightly crusted this morning.
For today, we'll have mostly sunny skies, increasing winds from the northwest, and temperatures rising into the the upper 30s down low, the upper 20s up high. High pressure builds in for the rest of the week with scorching temps expected by Friday.

These are the days to get after it: excellent coverage, excellent riding conditions, 5 star views. Forecaster Dave Kelly, UDOT forecaster John Woodruff cruising the Wasatch Back -
Recent Avalanches
None. Dave and Woody found mostly stable snow in their travels along the Wasatch Back yesterday. You can read their observation HERE.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Wet Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Wet avalanches will be increasingly possible with direct sun and warming temperatures. Look for the tell-tale signs and pre-cursors of wet avalanches (pinwheels, rollerballs, etc) and you'll want to avoid being on or beneath steep sun-effected terrain when the snow becomes wet, unsupportable and unstable. Remember that wet debris sets up like concrete and wet slides are often more difficult to escape once you're caught up in the cement mixer.
Avalanche Problem #2
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
A storm passing to the north of us has kick-started some winds along the highest ridgelines. The winds should be increasing as the day wears on. Most of the drifting will be on north to east to south facing aspects, but terrain channeling and eddying has a way of occasionally placing drifts around the compass. These soft slabs should be easy to recognize by their rounded appearance and should crack out with provocation.
NOTE it is possible the winds will stay north of the Provo region but you'll need to assess conditions and note obvious transport when you're in the field.
General Announcements
This information does not apply to developed ski areas or highways where avalanche control is normally done. This forecast is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This forecast describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.