Avalanche forecast

Salt Lake

Utah Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

  • Alpine
  • Treeline
  • Below treeline
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Out of date — this forecast expired 7 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Today the avalanche danger is MODERATE. The main avalanche problem to watch for and avoid are fresh slabs of wind drifted snow.

As the day warms and if the sun appears for any notable length of time, watch for the snow becoming wet and producing loose wet avalanches.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    2

    Soft slabs of wind drifted snow from yesterday's westerly winds are the main avalanche problem today. These wind slabs are 1-2 feet thick. The trouble is that they will be stabilizing at different rates. Some may be stubborn and well bonded while others may remain sensitive and can still avalanche.

    Photo (M. White) below is from a heavily wind loaded slope along the Park City Ridgeline, South Monitor Bowl, that produced a slide 2 feet deep and 60 feet wide.

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    1

    Be heads up if the sun appears for any length of time and the snow starts getting wet. Sunshine is very strong this time of year. By afternoon the snow could get damp and snow quality should deteriorate. If the snow gets wet and you see pinwheels of snow rolling downhill, that is a sign that wet loose avalanches could start happening.

Special Announcement

We need your help. In an effort to increase awareness and prevent future fatalities we need to reach more people with our daily avalanche forecasts, expand the Know Before You Go program, and increase the number of on-snow avalanche courses. Please consider a donation to the UAC to help us raise $25,000 by April 8. Help your support of the UAC by making a donation HERE. Thank you for your support!

Couple of new interesting things to read and listen to: (1) The latest blog by Drew "Roping the Wind (Slab)", and (2) UAC podcast featuring Lynne Wolfe - guide, avalanche educator, editor of The Avalanche Review, mentor, role model. This is a can't-miss episode!

The latest Week in Review is up and live.

Recent Activity

Avalanches in the backcountry and at ski resorts were mostly slabs of wind drifted snow about a 10-20 inches deep. Photo below of the layering in a small wind slab near Summit Park (Brackelsberg).

A few soft slabs 5-10 inches deep in the new snow produced avalanches like the one below in Argenta on Kessler Peak, but these instabilities on non-wind loaded slopes should have stabilized this morning.

Snow and Weather

Snow: An inch or two of snow fell overnight. Total snow since Thursday night is 18-23 inches in the Cottonwoods (1.4-1.8 inches of water) and about 12-14 inches along the Park City Ridgeline (1.1 inches of water)

Temperatures: This morning temperatures are mostly in the teens F.

Winds: Yesterday winds averaged 15-20 mph from the west with gusts of 30 mph. This morning winds shifted to the northeast and were blowing 2-5 mph even at 11,000 ft.

Today: Scattered snow showers will produce a trace to an inch of snow. Winds will remain mostly calm. Temperatures will climb into the low 30's F. There will be a mix of sun and clouds but it's hard to say exactly how much sunshine we'll see.

The new snow should have settled some overnight and I'd expect great "surfy" riding conditions this morning before the snow warms up too much.

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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.

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