Manti-La Sal Avalanche Center

US Forest Service Manti-La Sal National Forest

Introduction: Good Morning! This is Max Forgensi with the USFS Manti-La Sal Avalanche Center with your avalanche and mountain weather advisory for the Wasatch Plateau/Manti Skyline Region, including but not limited to Ephraim, Huntington and Fairview Canyons. This advisory is brought to you through a partnership with Utah State Parks. Today is Friday, February 18^th, 2005 at 8:30 a.m.

To see past advisories check out the ARCHIVE. To see current conditions go to our WEATHER PAGE. To see photos go to the AVIPHOTOS page.

General Conditions:

The storms keep on a coming towards the Manti Skyline! Yesterday, the high temperature reached 54 degrees at noon and last night the low temperature reached 10 degrees. The large temperature swing has left small zipper crusts on South through West aspects, while on those North aspects there will be some nice powder conditions. The road up to the Skyline is in decent shape with some snow packed spots out of the sun; expect the road conditions and visibility to consistently worsen into Friday and Saturday.

Current Conditions (6 a.m.):

Miller Flat (8,800’): 18 degrees 48” of settled snow on the ground.

Top of the Skyline: 60 to 80” of settled snow on the ground.

Mountain Weather: (At 8,000’)

SNOW ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM MST THIS AFTERNOON TO 5 PM MST SATURDAY
Today...Mostly cloudy. A slight chance of snow in the morning...Then snow likely in the afternoon. Accumulation 1-3 inches. Highs at 8000 feet in the lower 30s. Chance of snow 20 percent increasing to 60 percent in the afternoon.
Tonight...Snow. Accumulation 3-6 inches. Lows at 8000 feet in the mid 20s. Winds will be out of the South at 15-20 mph.
Saturday...Snow. Accumulation 4-8 inches. Highs at 8000 feet around 30. Winds will be out of the Southwest at 20-25 mph.

Avalanche Conditions:

There is a considerable of snow and wind on its way towards the Manti-Skyline and it appears that the storm system will continue to hammer the region all the way through President’s Weekend and into Tuesday. When do avalanches usually occur? DURING AND JUST AFTER A SIGNIFICANT WEATHER EVENT!!!! This past weekend storm came in very warm and has created a more cohesive layer on top of a less dense layer, which in turn is laying on a bed surface…the three components of a slab avalanche. With large amounts of wind and snow coming, this new load will stress the already fragile snow pack, produce tender cornices and have active loading on leeward sides of slopes and ridges. The Bottom Line for today is an avalanche danger that will rise to CONSIDERABLE on steep, leeward slopes (North through East aspects) as the snow starts to fall and the wind starts to howl. Remember an avalanche danger of CONSIDERABLE means human triggered avalanches are probable. I know that all the fresh snow makes playing on lower angle terrain and working on your sled tricks in the meadows is just as fun as playing in steep terrain…it might be a good option this weekend! On those lower angled slopes (less than 30 degrees) the avalanche danger is MODERATE to LOW.