Avalanche forecast

Skyline

Issued Feb 27, 2021valid to Feb 28, 2021Utah Avalanche Center

Avalanche danger

Alpine
Treeline
Below treeline

Out of date — this forecast expired 5 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

A small amount of new snow along with fairly strong wind that is drifting the snow will increase the avalanche danger today.

The avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE.

Human triggered avalanches are likely on steep slopes.

Layers of sugary faceted snow at the base of the snowpack remain very weak and are suspect to collapsing and avalanching.

Avalanche problems

Persistent Slabs
N
NE
E
SE
S
SW
W
NW
Alpine
Treeline
Below treeline
Likelihood
Almost Certain
Size
4
The small amount of new snow and wind will increase the avalanche danger a bit today. With the Persistent Weak Layer of snow at the base of our snowpack, anytime we add weight on top of it, it is likely to collapse and cause avalanches. Wind loads snow much faster than it can fall from the sky. The faster you load a slope, the more likely the weak layer won't be able to adjust to the rapid load and the more likely it will collapse and avalanche. Continue to use caution and avoid steep slopes.

Special Announcement

There's another great video out that highlights the importance of getting trained about avalanche safety. Klim put together this great video. The guys from Snow Big Deal, one of our local Klim dealers, help us a great deal with avalanche safety and are always involved when we need help teaching people how to use avalanche gear.

Recent Activity

There's been no new avalanche activity that I know of since early in the week. I did get one report about a potential partial burial when some snowmobilers triggered an avalanche in the Ephraim Canyon region. Details are vague about location, timing and what exactly happened. If you trigger an avalanche, please let us know so that we can spread the word that conditions are still touchy.

I've finished compiling all of the avalanche reports from the amazing recent natural avalanche cycle.

You can find the COMPLETE LIST HERE.

You can also view the AVALANCHE MAP to view these by location.

Highlights from the most recently published avalanche reports are avalanches in Jordan Canyon, one measuring 1 mile wide. This most likely ran Sunday or Monday with the spike in wind speeds.

There was a snowmobile fatality recently near Montpelier Idaho. Our forecasters from Logan went up to do the accident investigation. This is relative to our area because the snowpack is very similar. Below is a really well done video about what happened.

Snow and Weather

Current Conditions: Friday was another nice day in the mountains although a bit windy. Riding conditions remain good in many locations. Overnights we picked up about 3 inches of new snow. It looks like it's been a bit windy again from the west. Temperatures plummeted overnight with most stations at 5˚F this morning.

Mountain Weather: We'll see clouds over the mountains today with somewhat windy conditions and the chance for snow this afternoon. I'm expecting a trace to a few inches of accumulation. It's going to remain cold with highs in the low teens. Sunday looks like a real nice day with sun and highs in the upper teens. I'm not seeing any significant snow storms in sight until around mid March. There is some sort of closed low pressure system moving in from the south around the middle of next week but I don't think it'll do anything for the Manti Skyline. Looks like the Tushar Mountains might pick up a good shot of snow.