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Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon on
Wednesday morning, January 3, 2024
Here's the wind up... and the pitch-
A series of storms just announced their upcoming January tour and it looks like the band is planning a northern Utah residency beginning with a late Sunday show. The soundcheck I've heard suggests a more complicated avy danger going into next week. We'll keep ya updated as the setlist gets sorted through.
For today, you'll find generally LOW avalanche danger and human triggered avalanches are unlikely on the eastern front. At this juncture, slamming into a buried treasure like a rock or stump poses a greater hazard.
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Weather and Snow
Nowcast- Overnight, winds from the south bumped into the teens and mid 20's, ushering in a band of high, thin clouds. The inversion isn't quite as prominent as the past few days with most automated weather sites reporting temperatures in the mid to upper teens.
Forecast- Look for thickening clouds as the day progresses with southerly winds bumping into the 30's through about late morning. Temperatures climb into the low 30's, winds decrease somewhat, and a snow shower or two slides by late in the day, delivering a couple traces of snow. Overnight lows dip into the teens.
Futurecast- Light snow continues tonight into early Thursday. A break is slated for Friday morning, with another slightly stronger system brushing by late in the day, delivering a couple inches of snow. The weather world gets interesting deeper into the weekend with a series of cold, strong storms beginning Sunday, possibly continuing through a good chunk of next week.
It hasn't snowed in two weeks and the low elevation terrain, offers a low-tide, buzz-kill. But don't get discouraged at the trailheads... gain some elevation and the surface snow is fast and fun, travel is a breeze, and the livin' is easy. Our main man Ted Scroggin came out of retirement yesterday and reports five star shallow pow, especially on upper elevation terrain facing the north half fo the compass. His full trip report and insight is found HERE.
Recent Avalanches
Mark captures this facet-slufff-alanche trigered by a skier on the very steep east face of Moffit Peak Monday, reflecting just how weak the surface snow has grown in the past couple weeks.
Trip reports and the latest observations are found HERE.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Normal Caution
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This viddy reveals what Joey and I found whilst stomping around in Upper Moffit Basin on Sunday.
Lately, we've been snow-geek-speaking about near surface faceting or loud pow. In the short-term I call it great skiing, but a sketchy set up if this layer is buried and preserved with storm snow in the upcoming days. With a change in the pattern slated for later in the week, now is the time to get out and about and see the lay of the land for yourself. Whether you record the distribution of this surface weakness on your phone, your camera, or your cerebral hard-drive.... having a clear picture will help you navigate terrain safely once this layer is buried. Remember.... we may forget about these different layers of snow, but the snowpack has an impeccable memory.
Mark posted a great ob from his Moffit Peak travels Monday and explains the method of the mountain madness HERE.
Additional Information
The Uinta weather station network was upgraded this summer and all that real-time info is found HERE. Simply click on "western Uinta" tab and then "weather stations" tab.
We are always looking for snow and avalanche observations or just general riding conditions. So... if you see something, say something. You can reach me directly at craig@utahavalanchecenter.org or 801-231-2170.
Also, if you're looking for more avy education opportunities for yourself, your crew, or your club please don't hesitate to reach out to me and we'll find a presentation, class, or clinic for ya!
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Issued at 0415 on Wednesday, January 3rd this forecast will be updated by 0700 Thursday, January 4th, 2024.
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.
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