You will find Moderate avalanche danger on upper-elevation slopes facing W-SE. The problem is wind-drifted snow: look for cohesive slabs up to a foot thick beneath exposed ridges. While these wind slabs are dangerous on their own, they are also stressing persistent weak layers. Stick to non-wind-loaded slopes to avoid triggering these overlapping hazards.
Strong west winds are drifting snow into soft slabs up to 10 inches thick. These slabs are most common on upper-elevation leeward slopes, but you should also watch for sensitive drifts below exposed mid-elevation ridges. Shooting cracks within the surface snow will be a key indicator that the snow is stiff enough to create reactive slabs.
There is a widespread, persistent weak layer (PWL) of faceted snow on northerly-facing slopes at mid and upper elevations.
In isolated areas, you may find old and developing soft or hard slabs of wind-blown snow that may crack and fail in older faceted snow in the high, northerly terrain.
Unseasonably warm temperatures and rain falling on snow below 8000 feet may create loose wet avalanches. While these slides may be small, the heavy, wet debris can be dangerous in tight spots. Avoid terrain traps like road banks, creek beds, and gully walls where this heavy snow can pile up deeply and bury a person. Many south-facing slopes are completely bare and won't have wet snow avalanche danger.
The last reported avalanches were on December 7th, with the last significant storm.
Overnight, 2 to 4 inches of snow with 0.2 to 0.5 inches of snow water equivalent, with the rain-snow line between 8000 and 8500 feet. Winds were blowing out of the West 15-25 mph with gusts into the 30s & 40s at Arrowhead and along the Cascade ridge.
For today, skies will be mostly cloudy with occasional snow showers. We could see an additional 1 to 2 inches before sunset.Temperatures remain on the warm side with freezing levels hovering around 9000 feet, but will feel cooler with cloud cover and a light breeze. Winds are easing and should continue that trend before bumping up during the early evening hours.
Looking ahead, theweather looks to remain active with another warm storm moving through tomorrow into Tuesday.
Pro Observer, Erik Fullmer was out near Timpanogos looking at conditions prior to the storm. You can view his excellent observation here.
On Thursday, Trent and I broke out the Ski-doo's to look at snow strucutre in Snake Creek near Ant Knolls. View our observation here.
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.
