Forecast for the Salt Lake Area Mountains

Drew Hardesty
Issued by Drew Hardesty on
Thursday morning, November 21, 2019
Human triggered avalanches may be possible in upper elevation wind drifted slopes today on steep northwest to northeast facing terrain. Evaluate snow and terrain carefully today.
Remember that traumatic injury is likely in any early season avalanche accident.

We will provide an update again tomorrow, but we are not issuing danger ratings.
We are posting observations every day, so submit an avalanche or observation HERE. Read observations HERE.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
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Special Announcements
The open and closed resorts have different uphill travel policies, which may change daily as they work towards opening for the season. Check with each resort for the current information.
Terrain in unopened resorts must be treated as backcountry.
As part of your early season tune-up, consider taking an avalanche class. We have lots of avalanche education classes listed already, from Know Before You Go to Companion Rescue to our Backcountry 101.
Click on Education in the Menu above for more info.
Weather and Snow
We managed to squeeze another trace to 2" out of the storm overnight and with any luck today, we may see another trace to an inch. Storm totals are 4-6", favoring the upper reaches of Big Cottonwood Canyon and the Park City ridgeline.
The canyon winds (blowing east to west downcanyon) perhaps carry the headlines from the storm with some gusts north of I-80 near Farmington observed in the 70mph range. But along the high peaks, the east to southeast winds picked up just after midnight and are blowing 15-20mph with gusts to 30. Mountain temperatures are in the mid 20s.

1-2 feet of snow exists on the shady mid and upper elevation slopes of the upper Cottonwoods, and 6-20 inches at the upper elevations along the Park City ridgeline. Southeast through south through west facing terrain generally has this storm snow over bare ground.
Recent Avalanches
None.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Approach upper elevation wind drifted slopes with caution today. Upper elevation northerly terrain that has received the most snow and wind is the most suspect.
What complicates the weak early season snow structure in some areas is a thin superficial crust that caps our proverbial house of cards. This crust will initially shield and support a larger load of snow until it doesn't and when it doesn't we may see a bit deeper and more widely propagating avalanches failing at this crust/old snow interface. The additional weight and stress of a person on the snow may allow avalanches to be triggered and/or triggered from a distance.*
Collapsing and cracking are immediate signs of instability.
*I am not confident there is enough snow and wind to tip the balance toward avalanches today, but the uncertainty warrants a conservative approach in upper elevation wind drifted terrain facing northwest through northeast. It's a matter of time. If not today, then certainly next week with additional storms on the way.
Additional Information
Weather Outlook: a slow clearing and warming trend is on tap for the weekend with a more active pattern setting up for next week, led by a cold front Monday morning.
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.