Provo
Avalanche danger
- Alpine
- Treeline
- Below treeline
Highlights
The snowpack is generally stable and the avalanche danger is LOW. Watch for (1) isolated pockets of wind-drifted snow in exposed terrain at the upper elevations, and (2) minor wet (solar aspects) or dry (polar aspects) sluffing in the snow in steep terrain.
Remember that RISK is inherent in mountain travel; getting caught in even a small avalanche could have serious consequences in steep, rocky terrain.
Recent Activity
One of my colleagues running the snow safety program at one of the ski areas along the Park City ridgeline closed off some of his solar low/mid elevation terrain yesterday, noting that "the shallow snowpack did not take the heat well." With collapsing of the wet snowpack and minor wet loose activity, it was time to pull the plug. Good rule of thumb for those traveling in sunny terrain today. Greg Gagne's Week in Review is published and can be found HERE>
Snow and Weather
Skies are partly cloudy.
Mountain temperatures are in the low 30s.
If it's not going to snow, at least at it can be windy, at least up high. In the screen capture below, you can see the west-northwesterly gusts straining toward 100mph overnight at the 11,000' level.
The more representative anemometers have hourly averages of 15-20mph with gusts to 30.
For today, we'll have mostly sunny skies, moderate northwest winds and temperatures again soaring into the upper 30s. High pressure will continue its stranglehold on Utah through the weekend. A Pacific storm slated for Tuesday still looks like it will shear apart, but there is a hint of another wave piggy-backing the northern branch of the storm that may actually produce a couple inches of snow. We'll see.
Thanks to stormy October and Decembers, coverage remains good and winter backcountry travel is easy. Wind and sun crusts abound, but softening corn-like conditions exist on solar aspects and a few soft turns can be found in sheltered northerly terrain. Mark and his partners enjoyed perfect and glorious weather down on Mt Nebo yesterday and his observation can be found HERE>.
General Announcements
Who's up for some free avalanche training? Get a refresher, become better prepared for an upcoming avalanche class, or just boost your skills. Go to https://learn.kbyg.org/ and scroll down to Step 2 for a series of interactive online avalanche courses produced by the UAC.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE GENERAL INFO AND FAQ
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.