Bulletin d’avalanche

Salt Lake

Émis le Mar 8, 2022valide jusqu’au Mar 9, 2022Utah Avalanche Center

Danger d’avalanche

Alpin
Limite forestière
Sous la limite forestière

Périmé — ce bulletin a expiré 4 years ago. Vous consultez des conditions passées, pas le bulletin en cours.

Points saillants

There is a CONSIDERABLE danger on steep west to north to east-facing aspects at the mid and upper elevations where you are likely to trigger an avalanche 1-3' deep failing on a buried persistent weak layer of faceted snow. Natural avalanches are possible today.

There is a MODERATE danger on all other aspects. This involves fast and long-running sluffs in the new snow as well as pockets of fresh wind drifts across the upper elevations.

Problèmes avalancheux

Persistent Slabs
N
NE
E
SE
S
SW
W
NW
Alpin
Limite forestière
Sous la limite forestière
Probabilité
Likely
Taille
3
It's pretty simple. We have very weak faceted snow (persistent weak layer) now buried roughly 10-16 inches deep, and this layer is actively producing avalanches (see recent activity). With more snow and an increase in the wind, this problem is only getting more dangerous.

Yesterday, these avalanches were 1-2 feet deep and up to 200 feet wide. As the snow begins to stack up, it will overload this weak layer again, and I expect the avalanches to gain significant volume. Meaning the avalanches will be getting deeper, wider, and more dangerous, perhaps now 1-3 feet deep and several hundred feet wide. Close calls will turn into accidents. I would strongly encourage sticking to slopes less than 30° in steepness and avoiding avalanche terrain altogether.
Wind Slabs
N
NE
E
SE
S
SW
W
NW
Alpin
Limite forestière
Sous la limite forestière
Probabilité
Possible
Taille
2
The westerly winds did pick up overnight and seemed to only be blowing across the uppermost elevations this morning. However, as the storm gets going, the forecast is for these westerly winds to increase throughout the day, and there is plenty of new snow to blow around.

As always, watch for and avoid the snow that looks pillowy and rounded. This problem will only be compounding if you have weak snow underneath the wind drifted snow, allowing for the avalanche to be that much deeper.
Storm Slabs
N
NE
E
SE
S
SW
W
NW
Alpin
Limite forestière
Sous la limite forestière
Probabilité
Possible
Taille
1
As the new snow begins to stack up, I would be on the lookout for long-running dry loose avalanches and instabilities within the new snow (storm slabs). Use test slopes and shovel tilt tests to see how the new snow behaves.

Recent Activity

Avalanche Millcreek Canyon, Yellow Jacket 16" deep 50' wide.
Avalanche Neffs Canyon, Thomas Fork 16" deep 80' wide.
Avalanche Mineral Fork, Santiago Ridge 18" deep 50' wide. Caught & carried, deployed airbag.
Avalanche Parleys Canyon, Summit Park 10" deep 30' wide. Caught and not carried.
Avalanche Big Cottonwood, Main Days 15" deep 50' wide.
Avalanche Provo Canyon, North of Shingle Mill 16" deep 200' wide. Caught and not carried.
Avalanche Western Uintas, 16" deep 100' wide . Caught and fully buried in a terrain trap. Hand sticking out. Lost consciousness, but ok in the end.

Snow and Weather

With light snowfall and cloudy skies, the mountain temperatures range from 10-15 °F. Overnight the winds picked up from the west and are currently blowing 10-15 mph gusting into the 20's and 30's across the upper elevation ridges. At 11,000', the winds are blowing northwest 25-30 mph, gusting 50.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning that will be in effect from 11:00 am Tuesday lasting until 5:00 pm Wednesday. We can expect snow to fill into the northern Utah mountains around 8:00 am this morning. Winds will remain from the west north-west at speeds of 10-20 mph with gusts into the 20's & 30's across the upper elevations.

We should see light snowfall throughout today with perhaps 2-4" of new snow this afternoon. Around 4:00 pm, the snowfall will begin to intensify and could reach rates of 2" per hour later today and into tonight. We could see 12-24 inches (1.0-1.55) of new snow by Wednesday evening when we are all set and done.

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.

Observations and Avalanches

Backcountry Emergency Procedures