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Forecast for the Abajos Area Mountains

Eric Trenbeath
Issued by Eric Trenbeath on
Thursday morning, January 16, 2020
Strong southerly winds over the past several days continue to blow and drift snow and the avalanche danger remains MODERATE at mid and upper elevations. The danger is most prevalent on steep slopes facing W-N-E that have recent deposits of wind drifted snow. Recent wind drifts will be recognizable by their smooth rounded appearance, and sometimes hollow feel. Cracking is a sign of instability. Ranging from 3"-18" deep, steep slopes with recently deposited, wind drifted snow should be avoided.
Most south-facing and low elevation terrain have generally LOW danger.
Low
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High
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Special Announcements
Our Backcountry 101 avalanche course has been scheduled for February 15, 16. The cost is $150. The course starts with a 4-hour classroom session the night of the 15th followed by a day in the field. It's a great way to increase your avalanche awareness and backcountry travel skills. Click here to register. A huge thanks to Moab Gear Trader for sponsoring this course. Please visit them for all your winter backcountry needs.
Weather and Snow
I hope you enjoyed the beautiful day and relative calm yesterday. SE winds are back at it again and clouds are moving ahead of the last storm system in this pattern. Unfortunately, as has been typical with this pattern, we are mostly seeing wind, not snow. Today look for increasing clouds and southerly winds blowing in the 20 mph range with gusts in the 30's along ridge tops. We may see a few snow showers tonight with the main brunt occurring tomorrow. It looks to me like we'll be lucky to squeak more than a couple of inches out of this but let's hope I'm wrong. One thing's for sure, winds are going to blow and shift to more westerly averaging 20-30 mph with gusts as high as 50. As the storm moves on late Friday, high-pressure begins to build through the weekend. Conditions remain dry into mid-week.
Snow totals at Buckboard Flat (8924')
Snow totals at Camp Jackson (8858')
Wind, temperature, and humidity on Abajo Peak (11,000')
Recent Avalanches
General Announcements
This forecast is from the U.S. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This forecast describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.
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