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Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon on
Wednesday morning, March 29, 2023
Winds continue to reshape the landscape-
In the wind zone, above treeline, you'll encounter CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger and human triggered avalanches are LIKELY, on steep, rocky, upper elevation slopes. Terrain facing the north half of the compass, especially steep slopes with an easterly component to its aspect have the potential to produce avalanches that'll pack a punch and could easily roll you today. MODERATE avalanche danger is found near treeline and human triggered avalanches are POSSIBLE on steep slopes with recent deposits of wind drifted snow.
Looking for an exit strategy? Well, you came to the right place! LOW avalanche danger exists on lower elevation terrain around the dial, where you can have a blast and score soft, creamy snow along with predictable avalanche danger, particularly in wind sheltered terrain with no overhead hazard.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
Learn how to read the forecast here
Special Announcements
Thank you to everyone who donated to our Spring Campaign. We appreciate your support and look forward to creating new tools to help you stay safe in the backcountry.
Also... I am in the process of finalizing a report regarding the March 9th avalanche fatality in the Uinta's. Thank you for your patience... we will publish the final report in coming days.
Weather and Snow
Nowcast- The warm before the storm... high clouds drift into the region early this morning, putting a lid on overnight low temperatures which register in the teens and mid 20's, nearly 15 degrees warmer than at this time yesterday. Along the high ridges, southerly winds reached a bit of a crescendo around dinnertime, blowing in the 30's and 40's, but backed off slightly at the turn of the new day, and currently blow in the mid 20's. Winds continue thickening the snow surface and the glorious, days-long, powder party got crashed. However, don't let your heart be troubled, on a solid, go-anywhere base, wind sheltered terrain still harbors soft, creamy snow.
Forecast- Look for increasing clouds with a snow shower or two as temperatures climb into the mid 30's. Southerly winds crank into the 30's and 40's at mid elevations while punishing the ridges with gusts into the 70's. Snow develops late in the day and continues through tonight.
Futurecast- A nice shot of snow, water, and wind slides through the region overnight, delivering 6"-10" of snow by the time things wind down early Thursday. Another reinforcing piece of energy is slated to roll through Friday, stacking up an additional 4"-8" of snow.
Trip Reports-
Michael J was in Beaver Creek Monday and reports dry snow on the polars with some sun funk on the solars. His writeup and insights are found HERE.
Even more detailed trip reports and recent obs are found HERE.
Recent Avalanches
A natural cornice fall yesterday triggers this fresh wind drift on a steep, east-northeast facing slope in Upper Weber Canyon.
Avy-savvy, snow-pro... Bo (Torrey :) zoomed in on this image of Notch Mountain yesterday, where it appears a rather meaty piece of snow released in steep, rocky terrain.
Plenty of avy activity to peruse if ya wanna geek out. Click HERE to track this years slide activity throughout the range.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Windy Peak (10,662') delivers a 24 hour data dump, illustrating recent wind trends along the high ridges.
With no shortage of light snow available to blow around, today's winds have no problem whipping up fresh drifts reactive to our additional weight. Remember... there are several storms worth of wind drifted snow stacked up on leeward slopes in the wind zone and once triggered, todays avalanches are gonna pack a hefty punch. It doesn't mean you shouldn't ride... it does mean that rather than blindly center-punching a big objective with no beta, gather as much information as you can about the snowpack. Tweak small test slopes similar in aspect, elevation, and slope angle to the kinda terrain you plan on riding and see how they're reacting. In addition, have an exit plan in place in case things go sideways and discuss that with your crew before considering big terrain. Remember... you can have a blast on slopes protected by the wind and not even have to pull on the avalanche dragons trail today.
Additional Information
Weather stations-
And... rime events from January's atmospheric rivers severely crippled the Uinta weather station network. I'm working to get it back up and running, but a few stations are found HERE (click weather stations, and then on the Western Uinta tab)
Observations-
Your observations are important, so please let me know what you're seeing... click HERE and contribute to this amazing community-based program
General Announcements
Issued at 03:07 on Wednesday March 29th this forecast expires 24 hours after the date and time posted, but will be updated by 07:00 Thursday March 30th 2023.
Before it gets too crazy, now is the time to book an avalanche awareness presentation for your group, club, or posse. You can reach Craig directly at 801-231-2170 or craig@utahavalanchecenter.org.
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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