UDOT PLANNED AVALANCHE CLOSURES!!
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Forecast for the Salt Lake Area Mountains

Nikki Champion
Issued by Nikki Champion on
Saturday morning, March 6, 2021
The avalanche danger is LOW. The two things to watch for today are (1) small, loose wet avalanches on aspects facing east, south, and west, as well as low and mid-elevation northerly slopes, especially mid-day with peak temperatures (2) small pockets of fresh wind drifts may be found along north-facing upper elevation ridgelines.
Continue to maintain safe travel habits; this means exposing one person at a time to avalanche terrain, having someone watch them from a safe location, and not traveling above or below other parties.
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Special Announcements
The UAC staff has published a blog with answers to the numerous questions we received but were not able to answer during the Q & A session for the online meeting regarding the Wilson Glades February, 6 accident.
Weather and Snow
This morning, skies are broken and temperatures range from the mid-30s F at trailheads and low 20s F at the upper ridgeline. The southerly winds have increased overnight, averaging 15-30 mph, and gusting near 55 mph at 11,000'. The transition from winter to spring came quickly.
For today, expect more spring weather with partly cloudy skies and warm temperatures. Temperatures will rise well into the '30s and even low 40s F. Southerly winds will increase before a weak cold front moves in this afternoon. Expect the Southwesterly winds to average 20-35 mph with gusts up to 75 mph at the highest ridgelines. Warm temperatures will continue Sunday and Monday, with promising signs for a return to unsettled weather by perhaps Tuesday.
Our Week in Review - where we highlight significant avalanche and weather events from the past week - has been published.
Recent Avalanches
More minor wet-loose activity was noted on Friday, the largest avalanche of interest continues to be from Thursday where one party in the Y-Not Couloir - a steep, north-facing couloir in Little Cottonwood Canyon - experienced wet activity that funneled down through tight portions of the chute. This occurred mid-day and was possibly due to some green housing where the clouds trapped heat. With another day of broken clouds, we could see more green housing today.
As always, you can find more details in the Observations and Avalanches tab above and locations of these areas HERE
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Avalanche Problem #1
Normal Caution
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Description
Today, the overall avalanche danger is LOW. This means that human-triggered avalanches are unlikely, but small avalanches in isolated areas are possible.
Today I would watch for:
1. Wet snow - Last night's below freezing temperatures and today's cloud cover should keep the snow surface cooler but as the day heats up and the snow gets wet, you should be able to trigger small loose wet avalanches. These usually start at your feet and fan out below you. However, watch out for these slides happening naturally especially if you are in a gully or any confined terrain where a small one could pile up deeply. Look for signs of wet snow like rollerballs.
2. Wind drifted snow - Increased southerly winds last night into this morning may have transported some lingering dry snow and created small pockets of recent-wind drifted snow, predominately in upper elevation north-facing terrain features, such as ridgelines and cross-loaded gullies. Avoid terrain features with obvious signs of wind-drifted snow.
Evaluate snow and weather conditions as you travel and update your own forecast based on what you are observing.
Additional Information
What happened to the persistent weak layer near the ground? The layer still exists but it is mostly dormant, and we don't expect avalanches to happen on it until something changes in the weather. A major spring storm with feet of new snow could awaken this layer. It also may be a problem again on slopes that produced big avalanches following the series of storms that happened near Valentine's day in the middle of February.
General Announcements
Please visit this website with information about Responsible Winter Recreation by the Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE GENERAL INFO AND FAQ
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.
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