These days, dangerous snow conditions aren’t just in the backcountry or on the roads. They can also be on your roof. Avalanche experts call them "roofalanches" - big slabs of snow sliding off steep roofs. Recent snowfall with high water content leads to heavy snow piles on top of buildings. And when the sun comes out and temperatures warm up, those piles start to slide.
Greg Gagne is a forecaster with the Utah Avalanche Center. He said Friday that Utah normally sees snow slides off of roofs in March, and it's unusual to see such heavy slides this early in the season and people need to be careful. “Any of you who may have kids for example who’d be perhaps be playing underneath a steep roof with snow on top, definitely don’t do that," he said.
That goes for household pets, too. When you let them outside, make sure they don’t hang out underneath a steep roof with a large snow load. And be mindful of where you park your car. When you get out, look up. If you parked underneath a roof overhang and there’s snow on it, you may want to consider finding another parking spot.
