Manti-La Sal Avalanche Center

US Forest Service Manti-La Sal National Forest

Introduction:

Good morning! This is Max Forgensi with the USFS Manti-La Sal Avalanche Center with your avalanche and mountain weather advisory for the Wasatch Plateau/Manti Skyline Region, including but not limited to Fairview and Huntington Canyons. This advisory is brought to you through a partnership of the US Forest Service and Utah State Parks. Today is Sunday, January 18^th, 2004 at 7:30 a.m.

General Conditions:

Yesterday’s temperatures were a bit unexpected, temperatures through the thick of the day were above freezing with the high temperature around 50 degrees. Currently at the Mammoth/Cottonwood SNOTEL site it is 8.2F and there is 31.5” of snow on the ground. At the Miller Flat Trailhead there is 37” of snow on the ground, and the same can be said for Seeley Canyon. Although we haven’t had any new snow for over a week, it appears that there is a nice blanket of snow everywhere. The road is in great shape, there are only a few icy spots left.

Mountain Weather:

The high pressure system will remain over the great basin today. A series of weak weather will move across the area beginning tonight through early Wednesday, hopefully there will be enough mixing to get rid of the inversion that has left fog in some valleys.

Today: Mostly sunny. Highs at 8,000’ will be around 30.

Tonight: Mostly cloudy. Lows at 8,000’ will be around 15-20 degrees.

Martin Luther King Day: Mostly cloudy with a 30% chance of snow. High @ 8,000’ near 30.

The best chance of some precipitation is going to be Monday night, Tuesday morning.

Avalanche Conditions:

The January thaw is still upon us. The warm weather we experienced yesterday could have produced some wet point releases down in the canyons, but there isn’t much snow down below 8,000’ anymore. The good news is that we haven’t observed any new avalanches since the beginning of January. Expect sun crusts today on sunny aspects and some consolidated powder on shady aspects. We are in a wait and see mode currently, the question is going to be how will the next snow bond to the current snow surface. For today I am going to rate the overall hazard rating at LOW with pockets of MODERATE on cold, shady, wind loaded slopes greater than 35 degrees. Remember that a MODERATE rating still means that human triggered avalanches are possible and still to use extra caution when riding in avalanche terrain. Do not let your guard down! Expose only one person at a time to the hazard, i.e. avalanche terrain. Always travel safely in the backcountry.

Public Announcements:

We have some great classes coming your way in January! And we just set one up in Ephraim in February! Take a look at our Education link on the main page. If you want to schedule a free avalanche awareness class for your snowmobile club, please call us at 435.636.3363 or leave an email at mforgensi@fs.fed.us. We are still looking for observers for the Wasatch Plateau/Skyline region. The more information we can gather, the better this advisory can be.