US Forest Service Manti-La Sal National Forest

 

 Introduction:

 Good Morning, this is Dave Medara 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 Ephraim, Huntington and Fairview Canyons.  This advisory is brought to you through a partnership of Utah State Parks and the USFS.  Today is Saturday January 7th, 2006 at 7:30 a.m.   

 

To check out past advisories, go to ARCHIVE.  To check out the current, go to our WEATHER page. 

 

Current Conditions:

                We now have 43” of snow at the Miller Flat trailhead with decent coverage on most slopes for snowmobiling, skiing and boarding out there. Good powder conditions can be found on the shady side slopes, East – Northeast – Northwest facing. Expect to find varying degrees of sun and wind crusts on the sunnier slopes as a result of the strong winds earlier this week and the warm, sunny days that have followed.  The forecast 20 – 30 mph west winds should make the kite skiing pretty good as well.  Road are plowed and clear. Please park as efficiently as possible along the skyline and leave room for everybody.

 

Click the links below to find out up to date information at these weather stations on the Skyline. 

Mammoth/Cottonwood SNOTEL (8,800’):  40” of snow on the ground.

Seeley Creek SNOTEL (10,000’):  There is 26” of snow on the ground.

 

There is about 43” of snow on the ground at the Miller Flat Trailhead.

Mountain Weather: 

Today...Partly cloudy in the morning then becoming mostly cloudy. Windy. Highs at 8000 feet in the mid 40s. West winds 20-30 mph.
Tonight...A chance of snow in the evening...Then snow likely after midnight. Mostly cloudy. Colder. Accumulation 1 inch. Lows at 8000 feet 10-15. Chance of snow 60 percent.
Sunday...Windy...Periods of snow...Colder. Accumulation 1-3 inches. Highs at 8000 feet around 30. Northwest winds 20-30 mph.

Avalanche Conditions: (Click here for the International Avalanche Danger Scale)

The warm weather this week and the passage of time, allowing the snowpack to adjust to the load of snow from last weekend; will have stabilized the snowpack quite a bit. There are still some weak snowpack structures out there, particularly on E-NE-NW facing slopes that don’t see as much sun, and tend to get larger snow loads piled up on them. Buried faceted crystals on these slopes, approximately 30 – 35 inches down in the snowpack, could fail with dramatic results. This danger is not widespread, but it is worth noting before you hit the slopes today. The BOTTOM LINE is a MODERATE avalanche hazard on East – Northeast – Northwest facing slopes steeper than 35 degrees today. Expect to find a LOW hazard elsewhere in the range. Be careful on steep shady slopes out there today and practice safe travel techniques. Carry an Avalanche Beacon, shovel and probe and know how to use them. If you don’t know or want to know more then we’d like to invite you to attend a Basic Avalanche Awareness and Field Day starting at the Carbon County Recreation Center, Price, Utah. 7 p.m. at the Rec Center on Friday evening January 20th, with a  Field day Saturday on the Skyline January 21st, 2006.
Basic Avalanche Awareness and Field Day
Carbon County Recreation Center, Price, Utah
7 p.m. at t Center (Friday), Field day Saturday on the Skyline

*The advisory is also available via recorded message at (800) 648-7433