The avalanche danger will rise to MODERATE on upper-elevation slopes as increasing winds will create sensitive soft slabs of wind-drifted snow on aspects facing northwest, through east, and southeast.
The avalanche danger is expected to rise by Saturday, with heavy snowfall and strong winds forecast for this weekend.
Increasing winds from the west will create fresh wind drifts at the upper elevations. Wind drifts may be sensitive as they will form on top of weak, faceted snow at the surface of the snowpack on slopes facing north through east and southeast.
Brian Smith's video shown below provides an idea of how weak the current snow surface is:
Check out this insightful blog by Paige and Jeremy where they break down the complexities of Persistent Weak Layer (PWL) avalanches, why thin and rocky areas are especially dangerous, and how to manage the risks effectively in the backcountry.
Understanding the Risk of Persistent Weak Layer Avalanches
No backcountry avalanches were reported on Thursday. Two excellent recent observations on the current snowpack structure:
Find all avalanches from the past few days on the observations and avalanche page.
This Morning: Skies are clear and temperatures are in the mid 20's F with light winds from the west, gusting into the 20's mph along exposed ridgelines at the mid and upper elevations.
Today: Skies will cloud up this afternoon with temperatures rising into the mid 30's F. Winds will be from the west/southwest and increasing throughout the day, gusting to near 30 mph along exposed ridgelines at the mid and upper elevations.
This Weekend: The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the mountains of northern Utah, with heavy snow expected to develop overnight and into Saturday, lasting through at least Monday. Rising temperatures with more than 1 foot of heavy, dense snow accompanied by strong winds are possible by Sunday.
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This information does not apply to developed ski areas or highways where avalanche control is normally done. This forecast is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This forecast describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.
