Avalanche forecast

Skyline

Utah Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

  • Alpine
  • Treeline
  • Below treeline
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Out of date — this forecast expired 8 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

The avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE on steep slopes above 9500' that face northwest, north and northeast. Old weak snow from October will not be able to support the new wind blown snow. Human triggered avalanches are likely in this terrain. Outside of this terrain, the avalanche danger is LOW to MODERATE.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    2

    Good news, bad news.

    Bad news. There is enough old weak snow on north facing slopes above about 9500' left from earlier in the season to cause concern. It is certainly weak enough to cause avalanches. It is likely that a person could trigger an avalanche 8 to 14" deep today in the described terrain.

    Good news. The big picture is that this weak snow is not covering all that much of the terrain in whole. Look at the location rose and you'll see the area in blue is where you'll find this weak snow. All the area indicated in grey does not contain any weak snow.

    Also, it is difficult to get to many of the suspect slopes right now because of lack of snow on the approach. Furthermore, it is still early in the season and still quite a long way away before people will be venturing into this terrain. So, while we currently have some weak snow, it doesn't necessarily mean this season is going to be dangerous. We need to see what the future weather patterns do. Stay tuned.

Snow and Weather

The Skyline picked up another 6 to 13 inches of snow Saturday. Totals since Thanksgiving are 11 to 16 inches. That's a little bit on the low end of what I was expecting but not bad. From the instrumentation, it looks like the top of Fairview Canyon picked up the most snow. The wind was gusting to near 60 from the west on Saturday at the most exposed locations. It has slowed and is fairly light this morning. Temperatures are in the single digits in the high country this morning.

We'll have a day or two of high pressure and then it looks like we'll have a minor storm Tuesday into Wednesday with a better looking storm shaping up for Friday.

Additional Info

We are very proud to introduce our new website for the 2018-19 winter season. This will provide an easier and cleaner way to view all of the snow and avalanche information that you've come to rely on. We are quite happy with how the new website performs on mobile devices as well. We think you'll find the desktop or laptop experience pleasant as well. We are still tying up some loose ends so bear with us.

LINK TO VIDEO CONTAINING INFO ABOUT NEW WEBSITE

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