Uintas

Heads up... as today's storm materializes, the avalanche danger may bump up a notch, especially on the south half of the range (Currant Creek to Strawberry) which stacks up more snow-

This morning, MODERATE avalanche danger is found on steep, rocky, upper elevation slopes, especially in the wind zone at and above treeline. The danger is most pronounced in terrain facing the north half of the compass, particularly on slopes with an easterly component to their aspect. Human triggered wind drifts, along with more dangerous slides breaking to weak layers now buried deep in our snowpack are POSSIBLE.

Generally LOW avalanche danger is found on most south facing terrain along with mid and lower elevation shady slopes.

It's a fact, snowpro and avy-savvy forecaster, Ted Scroggin, is our main man with the western Uinta plan. And yesterday Ted was stomping around the Double Hill area and spotted this couple day old, rather meaty pocket on Moffit Peak. Ted know the western Uinta's like no other and his solid insights on how the place works are found HERE.

A slew of additional Uinta avy obs are foundHERE.

Nowcast- The latest round of snow bypassed the North Slope, instead opting for the after hours club on the south half of the range and got the party started around midnight, delivering 4" of warm, dense snow in short order. Under mostly cloudy skies, snow is starting to fill in across the range and temperatures begin the day in the teens and low 20's. Yesterday's southerly winds registering in the 50's, almost reached cow tipping category, but began mellowing mid day and currently blow in the mid 20's along the high ridges.

Forecast- A good shot of snow is still on the way and should begin to get going by sunrise, quickly stacking up 4"-8". Southerly winds remain well-behaved, but as they veer to the west later this afternoon we'll see a bump into the 30's. High temperatures don't stray much from where we're at this morning and dip into the teens overnight.

Futurecast- A break in the action is slated for Monday, followed by a weak system Tuesday, though it look likes most of the energy dives south. A better shot of snow aligns for later this week.

Suncrusts took the fun out of the solars and winds have worked our big, open alpine bowls. But don't let your heart be troubled... lose a little elevation, steer yourself toward sheltered shady slopes and riding conditions are surprisingly good. Christian Koenig puts that theory to test.

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

Such a rock star! Huge thanks to Joey Manship for all the hard work and Herculean efforts getting the Nobletts Beacon Park up and running. Located on the northeast corner of the parking lot, give it a go and practice your rescue skills on a down day, or while you wait for your crew before a ride.

Weather stations-

And... we were super busy this summer upgrading the western Uinta weather station network and this real-time winter info is 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

Issued at 03:33 on Sunday January 15th, this forecast expires 24 hours after the date and time posted, but will be updated by 07:00 Monday January 16th, 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.