Persistent Slabs
- Alta montaña
- Límite del bosque
- Bajo el límite del bosque
- Probabilidad
- Possible
- Tamaño
- 2
The January dry spell left a widespread persistent weak layer (PWL) of faceted snow on mid and upper-elevation slopes facing west, north, and east, and this layer is now buried underneath the 6-12 inches of snow from this past Wednesday. This PWL is evident in the gray stripe shown in the photo below from Brooke's field day in Days Fork on Sunday in the Salt Lake mountains, where there is a similar snowpack structure as we are seeing in the Provo mountains. Watch UAC Director Paige Pagnucco's video under Additional Info (below) on how this PWL has developed.
Wind-loaded slopes are the most likely to avalanche on this PWL where the wind has created a stronger slab above this buried PWL.
This PWL structure will create dangerous avalanche conditions with heavy snowfall and strong winds beginning later today and lasting through much of this week.