Nowcast - Firmly entrenched high pressure over the region delivers nuthin' but clear skies and balmy temperatures which begin the day in the upper 20's °F across the board. Near the high peaks, buzz-killing, snow torching winds blow 25-30 mph from the north and northeast.
Forecast - We can expect yet another dry, mild day with high temperatures climbing into the mid 40's °F. Winds blowing from the north and northeast are gonna be obnoxious this morning, but taper off right around sunrise.
Futurecast - Rinse and repeat through the weekend, but then there's a hint of a pattern change for more active weather slated to arrive late Monday or Tuesday. Too early to tell timing and strength for storminess. The encouraging news is winter is returning from its tropical hiatus. Man, I hope it's well rested and ready to party!
Travel Conditions - This winter looks underwhelming from first sight, but the Uinta's are performing closer to average this season than meets the eye. Snow depths vary from 1-3' across the range above 9,000' with a mostly right-side up snowpack. In general, protected polars continue to weaken but are riding well thanks to our Christmas Eve rain crust keeping us off the ground. Flip the compass script to slopes exposed to the elements for the past couple weeks, and they display a combo of wind-press, jack and whack, whilst lacking any attractive riding quality.
Avy savvy, snowpros, and all around remarkable people, Dave and Johanna Kelly took their steel horses for a ride in the Soapstone zone yesterday and report a fine day of riding in brilliant sunshine.
Tuesday, Ted and I staged out of Smith-Moorehouse to gain access to the North Slope.... all the deets on our travels are found HERE.
The surface snow continues to grow weaker by the day and once initiated, small, loose snow sluffs are entraining more snow than you might expect... as illustrated by the image above. A minor threat now, but speaks to a potentially tricky setup once winter decides to start wintering again.
