Uintas

The recent series of storms doubled our snowpack and changed the landscape-

Very strong winds during the storm built fresh drifts along the leeward side of upper elevation ridges and around terrain features like chutes and gullies. Problem is... they're camouflaged, covered over with yesterday's fresh storm snow. So today, step out cautiously and continue practicing safe travel by avoiding steep, upper elevation terrain, especially slopes facing the north half of the compass. And remember... any avalanche triggered today can result in a season ending, traumatic injury.

Huge thanks to everyone who presented, participated, and joined us for PROSAW and USAW. Great gigs that keep us sharp and in tune with staying on top of The Greatest Snow on Earth.

Keep your avy savvy groove goin'-

It's never to early to start thinking about avalanches. A few things to consider doing:

Sign up for an avalanche class.

Take the online courses listed on the KBYG website (Develop skills -> Online Learning).

Get your avalanche rescue gear ready for winter. Put fresh batteries in your transceiver and update the firmware. Inspect your shovel and probe. Get your airbag backpack ready by possibly doing a test deployment and update the firmware if it is an electric version.

No recent avy activity to report. Trip reports are found HERE

It was a great run, but now our recent series of storms is headed east and in its wake we'll see clearing skies and cold temperatures.

Nowcast- The second wave of snow began falling late yesterday afternoon, adding an additional 8" of snow, bringing storm totals to just about 15" of snow with 1.5" H2O across the range. Under mostly cloudy skies, westerly winds blow in the 20's and 30's along the high ridges. Cold air filtered into the region overnight and temperatures cratered into the single digits and low teens where they register early this morning. Riding and turning conditions drastically improved with our latest round of snow, but I'd dip my toe in the water before diving in headfirst. Maybe consider a few turns on a grassy meadow or a quick rip with the sled on a smooth, rock free road.

Forecast- A few snow showers linger over the region, but in general, the storm is done. Look for clearing skies as the day wares on with temperatures clawing to get out of the single digits. West and northwest winds blow in the 20's and 30's along the high ridges.

Furturecast- Clear and cold through the weekend.

Mirror Lake Highway is closed, but early season roadside attractions like Wolf Creek Bowl along Highway 35 remain likely suspects as roadside, park n' ride grabs. Here's the deal... just 'cause you can see it from the road, that doesn't necessarily mean it's safe and good to go.

And we've been super busy this summer upgrading the western Uinta weather station network and this real-time info is found HERE (click weather stations, and then on Western Uinta tab)

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 04:06 on Thursday November 10th, this information expires 24 hours after the date and time posted, but will be updated by 07:00 Friday November 11th.

I will update this forecast as conditions change and then once winter kicks into gear you can expect the usual daily forecasts issued by 07:00... or perhaps earlier :)

Before it gets too crazy, now is the time to book an avalanche awareness presentation for your group, club, or posse. You can reach me 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.