Moab

Snow and changing avalanche conditions on the horizon!

The avalanche danger remains LOW on all aspects and elevations. Unstable areas of wind drifted snow may exist on isolated terrain features in upper elevation, wind exposed terrain.

Road Conditions: The road to Geyser Pass Trailhead is mostly down to the dirt. Some patchy areas of packed snow and ice remain and they are slick. AWD and good tires are recommended.

Grooming: Trails were groomed into Gold Basin on Friday.

6:00 a.m. weather data:

24 Hour Snow 0" 72 Hour Snow 0" Base Depth at Gold Basin 41" Wind S 15-20 Temp 18F

If you haven't had enough sunshine over the past six weeks today is your last chance to get some for awhile. By Monday, a broad low pressure trough and associated multi-day storm system will begin to invade the region. The first wave will have a greater impact on points north though we should still get a shot of snow Monday night into Tuesday. The next wave favors our area with a better chance for significant snowfall starting Tuesday night into Wednesday. This looks like a pretty good event and I'm cautiously optimistic for a foot or more of snow through the duration.

NWS Weather Forecast for the La Sal Mountains

Gold Basin SNOTEL site (10,000')

Storm Totals in Gold Basin

Wind Station on Pre Laurel Peak (11,700')

Snowpack

With snow finally in the forecast, our attention remains focused on the loose, sugary, faceted snow that has formed near the surface during this extended period of high pressure. This loose, faceted snow will likely become our next weak layer in the snowpack and how much snow we get will determine how reactive it becomes. The weakest snow can be found on shady, northerly aspects right around treeline and below. In some of these areas, the entire snowpack has become loose and faceted. Above treeline, conditions are much more variable ranging from from wind scoured and sun crusted, to boiler plate. Where crusts are thin, the snow is faceting underneath. This makes mapping of this future weak layer tricky. Generally speaking, the more sheltered the area, the more likely the the surface is to be weak and faceted. When new snow finally comes, slope by slope analysis will be required when getting into steep terrain.

Who's up for some free avalanche training? Get a refresher, become better prepared for an upcoming avalanche class, or just boost your skills. Go to https://learn.kbyg.org/ and scroll down to Step 2 for a series of interactive online avalanche courses produced by the UAC.

This forecast is from the U.S. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This forecast describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.