Avalanche forecast

Uintas

Utah Avalanche Center
View on map

Avalanche danger

  • Alpine
  • Treeline
  • Below treeline
Open full map
Out of date — this forecast expired 4 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Overall, the avalanche danger is LOW and human triggered avalanches UNLIKELY as much of the range is still reeling from the carnage of the midweek wind event.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    1

    Yesterday, Ted and I rolled out to Lofty Lake Peak to work on comms and recalibrate the wind machine... hopefully the tweaks usher in more snow than wind with the next series of storms.

    Winds have blown from every quadrant of the compass and the snow in most of our terrain is wind-pressed rather than wind loaded. However, there may be a rogue wind drift or two reactive to our additional weight on the leeward side of ridges and around terrain features like chutes or gullies. Remember to look for and avoid hard, stiff, pieces of snow, especially if they sound hollow like a drum.

Recent Activity

No significant avalanche activity to report, but if ya wanna geek out, click HERE to track this years slide activity throughout the range.

Snow and Weather

Nowcast- High clouds drift through the region early this morning and southerly winds blow in the 20's and 30's along the high peaks, ahead of a quick hitting storm on the doorstep slated to roll through the area tonight. The mercury kicks off the day inverted, in the teens at the trailheads and low 20's near the ridges... the same temperature as the City of Salt. Riding and turning conditions took a hard hit from the cow-tipping, midweek, wind event. But, I bet if you hunt around long enough, you'll find limited swaths of shallow, creamy snow on very wind sheltered, mid elevation slopes.

Forecast- Expect increasing clouds with temperatures climbing into the low 30's. Southwest winds ramp into the 30's and 40's as the day progresses with light snow developing before the turn of the new day.

Futurecast- Heavy, albeit short-lived, snow piles up fast and furious early Sunday morning with totals in the 3"-5" stacking up before suppertime. A short-lived break in the action for Monday with a better shot of snow, water, and wind slated for Tuesday through Thursday. I'm still sorting through the deets for timing and strength, but right now a couple feet of snow with an inch or two of H2O looks like a solid bet.

In the wind zone, terrain like Bald Mountain got absolutely ravaged by Wednesday's hurricane force winds.

Huge thanks for all the great obs streaming in from the eastern front. Even more detailed trip reports and recent obs are found HERE.

Additional Info

Weather stations-

And... rime events have severely crippled the Uinta weather station network. I'm working to get it back up and running, but a few stations are found HERE (click weather stations, and then on the Western Uinta tab)

Observations-

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

Issued at 03:22 on Saturday February 18th, this forecast expires 24 hours after the date and time posted, but will be updated by 07:00 Sunday February 19th 2023.

Before it gets too crazy, now is the time to book an avalanche awareness presentation for your group, club, or posse. You can reach Craig 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.

Regions covered