Snow returned to the Wasatch this week after an unusually dry January and February, dropping over a foot of snow at higher elevations over the past three days.
The avalanche center is reporting considerable avalanche risk for steep west, north, and east-facing slopes above 8,000 feet in elevation thanks to a persistent weak layer of snow left over from December's storms.
The report says avalanches triggered could be 1-3 feet deep and hundreds of feet wide.
A persistent weak layer is formed when old snow forms large snow crystals that don’t bond with other snow layers. These layers are very unstable and can easily trigger avalanches if they are loaded with enough weight to make them collapse.
The avalanche center recorded seven avalanches on Monday, including one in Summit Park where a person was caught, but not carried by the slide. A snowmobiler in the western Uintas was also buried and lost consciousness before friends managed to dig them out. The snowmobiler is ok.
Avalanche forecaster Trent Meisenheimer says he expects the danger to increase later in the week.
“These avalanches yesterday weren’t too deep, not too wide, but we start stacking up new snow – another foot, two feet of snow on top of this with a little bit of wind – these avalanches are going to change drastically," he says. "It won’t be fun and games with these small little rides, it’s gonna be the real deal out there.”
An avalanche watch is also in effect for northern Utah through Wednesday morning with more snow in the forecast. Light snow is expected to fall throughout the day today with 2-4 inches of new snow possible by Tuesday afternoon. According to the avalanche center, 12-24 inches of snow could fall at higher elevations by Wednesday evening and avalanche danger will likely rise to high.
For Tuesday’s full avalanche report, click here.
