Salt Lake Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Brett Kobernik

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

I'll be giving a free avalanche awareness talk at the Tram Club at Snowbird tonight at 6pm. You Alta residents should come to the big city just down the canyon and check it out. DETAILS

BOTTOM LINE

Danger by aspect and elevation on slopes approaching 35° or steeper.
(click HERE for tomorrow's danger rating)


Danger Rose Tutorial

The avalanche danger is generally MODERATE today. In terrain above 8500 feet watch for cracking and collapsing which indicates the chance of a slab avalanche with weak underlying snow. Avoid steep slopes that hold damp snow below 8500 feet.

CURRENT CONDITIONS

Under cloudy skies and some light rain/snow/graupel mix, we have very mild temperatures and moderate winds from the west. Temperatures are right about 30 at 10,000 and mid to upper 30s at lower elevations. West winds are gusting into the 20s along the mid elevation ridges and near 50 along the highest terrain.

A few people have misunderstood my attitude lately. While I refuse to call the riding conditions anything better then poor to ok, I don’t want to come off like I’m complaining. I’ve actually been embracing this unusual weather pattern that’s produced a most interesting period of near surface faceting. I’ve been jolly in recording the temperatures and photographing the grains as they deteriorate into sugary facets. You can’t really complain about nice weather for traveling through the backcountry either, and we’ve had plenty of that. Low expectations have led to pleasant surprises of scattered areas of nice turning.

And now we’ve added a rain crust. Yup, it rained yesterday. This should prove to be most interesting as well. I can't wait to get into the backcountry again! (I'm serious!) We won’t really know the extent of it until it cools but it was quite noticeable above around 10,000 feet on Wednesday. Below that, the snow remained damp on the surface. UDOT reports the top inch of snow is wet at 8700 feet. Rain or rime crusts often turn out to be a bad thing. We usually see weak snow form underneath them and it can form on top of them also. They seem to allow a bit more snow to build up on top of them before they release and can cause larger avalanches.

THREAT #1
WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

Slab avalanches breaking into old weak snow is the biggest concern today. We have a weak slab in many locations that consists of snow from the last storm which was December 21st. Winds have stiffened this snow in many areas and these are the spots most likely to avalanche. We may add a little weight with today’s expected precipitation but it probably won’t be significant except in areas where the wind perhaps drifts enough snow.


THREAT #2
WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

You’ll also want to consider wet activity today in terrain below 8500 feet. My instinct tells me we won’t see much activity but we always want to watch when cold snow goes through a significant warming trend. Stay out of confined terrain such as gullies.


MOUNTAIN WEATHER

We’re expecting some snow today with accumulations in the 1 to 3 inch range. Snow levels will be around 8000 feet. Temperatures will remain fairly warm in the mid 30s at 8000 feet and upper 20s along the higher ridges. Winds will probably be annoying with moderate to strong speeds from the west or northwest. Things look like they remain warm and wet into Friday. Another more potent short lived storm with not much moisture will move through Friday night. We return to a ridge of high pressure after that which looks like it lasts through next week.

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

If you trigger an avalanche in the backcountry - especially if you are adjacent to a ski area – please call the following teams to alert them to the slide and whether anyone is missing or not. Rescue teams can be exposed to significant hazard when responding to avalanches, and do not want to do so when unneeded. Thanks.

Salt Lake – Alta Central (801-742-2033)

Ogden – Snowbasin Patrol Dispatch (801-620-1017)

Provo – Sundance Patrol Dispatch (801-223-4150)

Dawn Patrol Forecast Hotline, updated by 05:30: 888-999-4019 option 8.

Daily observations are frequently posted by 10 pm each evening.

Subscribe to the daily avalanche advisory e-mail clickHERE.

UDOT canyon closures UDOTat (801) 975-4838

You have the opportunity to participate in the creation of our own community avalanche advisory by submitting avalanche and snow observations. You can also call us at 801-524-5304 or 800-662-4140, or email by clickingHERE

Donate to your favorite non-profit –The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center. The UAC depends on contributions from users like you to support our work.

We will update this forecast tomorrow morning. Thanks for calling.

This information does not apply to developed ski areas or highways where avalanche control is normally done.  This advisory is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.

This advisory provided by the USDA Forest Service, in partnership with:

The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center, Utah Division of State Parks and Recreation, Utah Division of Emergency Management, Salt Lake County, Salt Lake Unified Fire Authority and the friends of the La Sal Avalanche Center. See our Sponsors Page for a complete list.