Abajos

A HIGH avalanche danger exists in the Abajo Mountains today. Avoid all avalanche terrain. This means staying off of slopes steeper than 30 degrees with nothing steep above you.

NWS Forecast for the Abajo Mountains

Snow totals and temps at Buckboard Flat (8924')

Snow totals and temps at Camp Jackson (8858')

Weather

The storm will wind down today. Lingering snow showers will produce another 1-2" of snow, but for the most part it is over. NW winds will blow 25-30 mph with gusts in the 40's. Skies will clear tomorrow with continued NW winds around 15-20 mph. Another chance for snow comes on Friday.

Snowpack Summary and General Conditions

Cory Noonan toured around the old ski hill Monday and sent in this report.

What an impressive storm! The Abajo range is the big winner for this event. Camp Jackson is reporting 18" in the last 24 hours at 2" of SWE. This brings 72 hour totals up to 29" of snow and 4.2" of SWE. This is a huge load on top of a pre-existing weak snowpack structure. This has created very dangerous avalanche conditions throughout the range. Blowing and drifting snow will only complicate things. The avalanche danger is HIGH, natural avalanches are likely, human triggered avalanches are very likely, and backcountry travelers must avoid all avalanche terrain. If you are out riding in the mountains, stick to low angle meadows with no steep slopes above you.

If you are getting out in the backcountry, we'd love to hear what you're seeing. Please submit observations here. For the most recent snowpack observations click here. You can also send an email to [email protected] or give me a call with anything noteworthy, especially avalanches! 801-647-8896

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.