Forecast for the Provo Area Mountains
Issued by Drew Hardesty on
Saturday morning, January 7, 2023
Saturday morning, January 7, 2023
Areas of CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger exist in steep terrain. Any new snow avalanche may step down into older snow layering, particularly on steep northwest to easterly facing aspects. Conservative decision making remains essential today.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
Learn how to read the forecast here
Weather and Snow
Skies are clear. Mountain temperatures are in the low 20s. Winds are light from the west.
For today, we'll have partly cloudy skies with temperatures rising to the mid to upper 20s. Winds will start to increase from the southwest this afternoon.
Most areas picked up another trace overnight, pushing storm totals to 16"/1.5" SWE. Coverage is amazing with 80-100" in the upper elevations of the Provo mountains.
Riding conditions were a bit upside down yesterday, but overnight settlement will probably improve conditions for today.
Recent Avalanches
Avalanche control work triggered a large avalanche at Sundance yesterday 3-4' deep and 350' wide on a steep northeast facing slope at 7500'.
An observer near Aspen Grove watched a natural avalanche cascading out of the NE chute of Elk Point yesterday.
Avalanche Problem #1
New Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
New snow soft slab avalanches 1-2' deep can still be triggered today in steep terrain of all aspects and elevations. These new snow avalanches will be reactive to ski cuts and cornice drops. If traveling into the higher elevations, soft slabs of wind blown snow are to be expected in the lee terrain. Shooting cracks are good indicators of instability. Isolated natural new snow avalanches will also be possible in the steepest terrain today as well.
pc: G Harmsen
TREND: STABILIZING
Avalanche Problem #2
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Any new snow avalanche may step down into older snow layering, creating a larger and more destructive avalanche. Last weekend's Extreme avalanche danger led to natural avalanches on all aspects and elevations, with rain down to 8000' or so. The snowpack has slowly started to adjust but you can still trigger avalanches on these weak layers today. I would continue to avoid steep avalanche prone terrain today.
General Announcements
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.