Today, the avalanche danger is MODERATE across all upper elevations for wind-drifted Snow. Here, you can find soft slabs of wind-blown snow that could be sensitive to the weight of riders. Be on the lookout and avoid areas with fresh drifts of wind-blown snow.
As you travel across upper elevation ridgelines be on the lookout and avoid fresh drifts of wind-blown snow. These shallow, soft slabs of wind-drifted snow will likely be less than a foot deep, but they could be reactive today, especially on slopes where the old snow surface is weak and faceted (northerly-facing terrain).
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No new observations or avalanches.
Under mostly clear skies, the mountain temperatures are cold and range from 10-16 °F. Winds continue to blow from the northwest but have slowed dramatically, and only a few anemometers report 5-10 mph wind speeds. At 11,000', the winds are a little stronger and blow from the northwest at 10-20 mph. The storm did not produce well for the Provo area, and for the past 24 hours storm totals ranged from 1 to 3 inches of new snow (0.06-0.20 water).
Today, we will have clearing skies as the storm exits and high-pressure returns. Winds should be on their best behavior and only blow 5-15 mph from the north. It will be a cold day as temperatures will only climb into the upper teens °F by this afternoon.
The recent storm has improved the riding and turning conditions, especially on aspects that still had dry cold snow underneath. On sunny slopes, there is a hard, slick, frozen crust in many spots where backcountry riders reported needing ski crampons in steep exposed terrain.
What happened to the Persistent Weak Layer (PWL) problem? The PWL problem first appeared in the December 1 forecast and was removed from the forecast on Wednesday, December 20. On Thursday, December 21, forecasters Nikki Champion and Greg Gagne talked about the PWL problem over a Zoom call and their 5-minute discussion. Be sure to watch the video.
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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.
