Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Skyline Area Mountains Issued by Brett Kobernik for Saturday - January 31, 2015 - 6:31am
bottom line

The overall avalanche danger is LOW. Watch for fresh wind drifts along the upper east facing ridges on Sunday. Be aware of wet soggy conditions at lower elevations and avoid steep gullies in these areas.
current conditions

Well, it looks like the storm didn't do a whole lot along the Manti Skyline. Most places only picked up a few inches of new snow. Temperatures remain pretty warm in the upper 20s at most stations and winds are generally light from the east.

Snow surface conditions deteriorated quite a bit over the week with the unusually mild temperatures and east wind that stripped a number of east facing slopes. It's quite odd not to see the usual cornice formation this year along the upper east facing bowls. The few inches of new snow should help riding conditions a bit.
recent activity

No significant avalanche activity occurred this week. We were able to initiate a little loose wet avalanche activity on very steep slopes at lower elevations in Huntington Canyon on Friday. This didn't amount to much but had potential to produce some larger piles of debris.
Avalanche Problem 1
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 24 hours
description

The storm didn't change avalanche conditions much. You can travel around without too much concern about triggering or getting caught in an avalanche. Here are a couple things to consider though.

  • If you are in lower elevations where the snow is wet and saturated, avoid narrow gullies where even a small wet loose avalanche could pile up deep.
  • Wind on Sunday may drift the new snow around enough to create some fresh wind slabs that could release. These won't pose much threat to snowmobilers but might knock over a snowshoer or skier. These will be in the usual places which are along the east facing upper elevation ridgelines.
weather

The storm is starting to bust up but we might see a few more periods of snow this morning. There may be some clearing this afternoon. Ridgetop temperatures will be in the upper 20s to around 30. Winds should shift more northerly and increase in speed late today and into Sunday. We'll see mostly clear skies on Sunday with ridgetop temperatures in the upper 30s to around 40. It doesn't look like there is any significant storm lined up this coming week aside from a few flurries possible early in the week.
general announcements

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The information in this advisory is from the US Forest Service which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.

This advisory will be updated by 7:00 AM Saturday, February 7, 2015 or sooner if conditions warrant.