Lawinenlagebericht

Uintas

Utah Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

  • Hochgebirge
  • Waldgrenze
  • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
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Veraltet — dieser Lagebericht ist 5 years ago abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

In the wind zone, at and above treeline a CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger exists on steep, upper elevation terrain facing the north half of the compass and HUMAN TRIGGERED AVALANCHES ARE LIKELY, especially on wind drifted slopes and particularly those that harbor old October snow. And remember... any avalanche that fails on older snow will get quickly out of hand, breaking deeper and wider than you might expect, revealing a myriad of season ending obstacles. In addition, strong winds are forming fresh drifts in mid elevation terrain where you'll find MODERATE avalanche danger on steep, wind drifted slopes facing the north half of the compass and human triggered avalanches are possible.

But here's the good news- simply switch aspect or lose elevation and set your sights on terrain that was bare prior to last weeks big storm. You'll find generally LOW avalanche danger on slopes with these characteristics.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Possible
    Größe
    2

    Above is a side-by-side 24 hour data dump from Lofty Lake Peak (11,186') and Windy Peak (10,662') showing the relentless upper elevation wind speeds.

    Strong southerly winds have blasted the high ridges for the past 48 hours and there's plenty of loose snow to work with to form fresh wind drifts along the leeward side of mid and upper elevation ridges. So, today's most obvious and in your face avalanche problem is both old and newly formed drifts. Easy to detect by their fat, rounded, and often chalky appearance they're easier to avoid by simply steering clear of any steep, wind drifted, mid and upper elevation slope. With sustained strong winds, I wouldn't be too surprised to find drifting on slopes we usually consider sheltered from the wind.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Possible
    Größe
    2

    It's not too hard to identify the weak snow structure in our snowpack.

    Winds are always the great equalizer on the eastern front and recent winds are helping to form a stiff, cohesive slab which now rests on fragile, old October snow... or what we call a persistent weak layer (PWL). This is the classic "strong snow on weak snow" setup and that's always a dangerous combination in our mountains. This combo makes snow feel strong under our skis, board, or sled and often allows us to get well out onto the slope before the weak layer fails (often around a bush or rock we can't see under the snow), the avalanche breaks above us, and now the entire seasons snowpack crashes down on top of us.

    Now here's where it gets tricky... there's a fresh blanket of snow coating our mountains and everything's gonna look white. In fact, it'll be more difficult to determine what slopes held early season snow. But remember... terrain that faces the south half of the compass and lower elevation slopes were bare prior to last weeks big storm. And while there's plenty of gear wrecking rocks and stumps to slam into, there's no old snow and avalanche issues are straight-forward.

Recent Activity

No new avalanche activity to report from our area, but near-by terrain in the Park City area with similar snow structure is producing large avalanches breaking to weak, October snow.

Observations, trip reports, and avalanches found here.

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Snow and Weather

NOWCAST-

Southerly winds are the headline grabbing news as they've blown in the 40's and 50's for the past 48 hours and continue punishing mid and upper elevation terrain. A few high clouds drift into the region this morning and temperatures register in the teens and mid 20's. Unfortunately, recent winds have nuked much of our terrain, transforming it into a lunar-like landscape and there's very little soft snow out there. So, get your chores done today and you'll be good to go when the storm arrives.

FORECAST-

Winds crank, clouds thicken, and snow begins falling later today as a good looking storm continues evolving throughout the day. High temperatures climb into the 30's and cow-tipping southerly winds blast into the 50's with gusts in the 70's along the high peaks.

FUTURECAST-

The graphic above says it all. An active weather pattern sets up for the next few days. Expect strong winds through a good portion of the day with snow beginning to fall as the day wares on. The storm really gets going tonight and Wednesday and I think we can expect a solid foot of snow before things taper off late Wednesday. A break in the action slated for Thursday is short-lived as another storm is on tap to round out the work week.

Looking for real-time temps, snow, or wind?

Click HERE and then on the "western Uinta" tab for western Uinta specific, weather station network.

Additional Info

Your observations are important, so please let me know what you're seeing... click HERE and contribute to this amazing community based program

General Announcements

The information in this forecast expires 24 hours after the day and time posted, but will be updated by 07:00 Wednesday December 15th.

Before it gets too crazy, now is the time to book an avalanche awareness presentation for your group, club, or posse. You can reach me directly at 801-231-2170 or [email protected]

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.

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