Avalanche Warning
What: The avalanche danger for the warning area will rise to CONSIDERABLE and HIGH today.
Where: For the mountains and foothills of Northern Utah, including the Wasatch Range...Bear River Range...Wellsville Range...Oquirrh Mountains...Stansbury Range...Cache Valley...Ogden Valley
Impacts: Warm temperatures and the intense sun will create widespread areas of unstable wet snow. Natural and human-triggered cornice falls and wet avalanches are likely. People should avoid being in avalanche terrain (off of and out from under slopes steeper than 30°) and stay clear of avalanche run-outs on all aspects and elevations.
The report for the Pole Canyon Accident is available
HERE. Thank you to the people involved for sharing so much information so that we can all learn from this accident and come home safely to our loved ones.
High pressure, plenty of sunshine, and warming temperatures will build in this morning and take hold over Northern Utah for the next few days. Overnight the mountain temperatures dropped just below freezing, allowing for a very shallow re-freeze of the snow surface in some places. However, Bunnells at 8,800' had an overnight low of 36°F, and there you can expect no re-freeze. This morning, current mountain temperatures range from 30-37 °F and will change quickly once that giant sun ball comes over the hill. Winds are generally light and are blowing from the west at 5-15 mph.
Sunshine, light winds, partly cloudy skies, and temperatures rising into the 40s and even 50s will be on tap for the day. Bring plenty of skin wax, sunscreen, hats, and water if you're heading out today. The forecast for the next few days is grim, with no overnight re-freezes and temperatures remaining above freezing up to 9,500' in elevation. YUCK! Can someone teach me to play golf?
Yesterdays temperatures maxed out at 40-51°F across the range and led to another wet loose avalanche cycle on almost all aspects and elevations. Today will be no different, except the avalanche could be larger. Cornice falls are also being reported and caught on video from the Provo area (utavy IG account). Be sure to check out our
Instagram utavy and the observations tab
HERE. Also had a report via Instagram showing a very large wet loose avalanche in Bunnells drainage that filled the gully for a very long distance.
Photo: Wet avalanche activity in Porter Fork, Millcreek Canyon. Link
