Ad
The National Forest Service Logo
icon-add Observation
Forecasts
Logan Ogden Salt Lake Provo Uintas Skyline Moab Abajos Weather Archives How to read the forecast
Observations & Avalanches
Submit Observation Observations Explorer All Observations Avalanches Fatalities Weather Place Names Map Archives
Education
Avalanche Class List UAC Class List Online Classes Resources and Tutorials Avalanche Awareness Develop Skills
Events
Store
About
Contact Who we are Core Values Staff Board of Directors Past Forecasters Sponsors Annual Reports Sign In
Blog
icon-add Observation
Donate / Join

Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon on
Thursday morning, February 27, 2020
In a virtual sea of LOW avalanche hazard you'll find pockets of MODERATE avalanche danger in the wind zone, at and above treeline, on steep, wind drifted slopes. Human triggered avalanches are POSSIBLE, especially on slopes with an easterly component to its aspect. While more the exception than the rule, avalanches breaking into deeper, buried weak layers are still possible. Usual suspect terrain includes- steep, rocky, upper elevation slopes, particularly those exhibiting a thin, shallow snowpack and this includes repeater avalanche paths. Remember- any slide that breaks to old snow, instantly throws a curve ball at your day.
Wind sheltered mid and low elevation terrain offers generally LOW avalanche danger.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
Learn how to read the forecast here
Special Announcements
The UAC's Avy Awareness Auction is currently underway with tons of great gear, jewelry, artwork and experiences available. Visit the auction page here to help support the UAC's spring avalanche awareness and outreach efforts.
Click here for more details.
And... a new version of the UAC IOS application is now available on the Apple App Store. This version fixes many of the issues that occur when running IOS 13.
Click here for more details.
Weather and Snow
Currently-
As high pressure builds, skies are clear and temperatures register in the teens and low 20's. Late last night, west and southwest winds bumped into the 20's and 30's and have blown steadily along the high ridges since. It's hit or miss out there. Recent winds blasted our high alpine terrain and there's a lot of old, hard, scratchy surfaces. But on a go-anywhere base, if you seek out mid elevation, wind sheltered slopes, you'll be rewarded with shallow, creamy snow.
Uinta weather network info is found here. Simply click on the Western Uinta tab.
For today-
Look for mostly sunny skies with temperatures climbing into the mid 30's as a dry, northwesterly flow remains in place today and tonight. Gusty ridgetop winds this morning decrease as the day wares on.
Futurecast-
About the same weather on tap for Friday with a fresh coat of white paint slated for Saturday night into Sunday.
Recent Avalanches
No significant avalanche activity to report.
To view additional trip reports and recent avalanche activity, simply click here.
Ad
Avalanche Problem #1
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Most prevalent on the leeward side of upper elevation ridges, be on the lookout for bot fresh and older drifts cross-loaded around terrain features like chutes and gullies. Climbing is easy right now and if you're tagging steep, technical terrain, remember that even a small slide could knock you off your feet and boss you around. So, the ticket to riding safely today is simply look for and avoid any fat, rounded piece of snow, especially if it sounds hollow like a drum.
Avalanche Problem #2
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
While more the exception than the rule, repeater slide paths and terrain that has remained shallow all season like steep, rocky slopes in the image above, continue producing pockety avalanches with a little nudging.
It's been several days since I've heard of any avalanches breaking to older layers in the snowpack and that's good news. However, snow is a curious medium and all we need to do is find one inconsistency or a shallow zone, maybe around a rock or bush, collapse the pack, and now we've got a bigger slide than we might've bargained for. So my safe travel strategy is to think about suspect terrain I want to continue avoiding and that includes steep, rocky terrain and slopes that avalanched near the ground earlier in the season.
General Announcements
The information in this forecast expires in 24 hours, but will be updated by 7:00 AM Friday Feb. 28th.
This forecast is updated daily by 7:00 AM.
In the mean-time, if you see or trigger an avalanche or just wanna let me know what you're seeing you can reach me directly at 801-231-2170
This is a great time of year to schedule one of our free avy awareness presentations.
You can email me directly [email protected]
The information in this forecast is from the US Forest Service which is solely responsible for its content.
< Previous forecast
Next forecast >