Winter has had a slow start in Utah this year, but snow is finally falling. With snow sticking in the mountains, the Utah Avalanche Center restarted its daily forecasts this week.
Forecaster Drew Hardesty said most backcountry terrain is either low or no danger due to a lack of snow. However, slopes above about 9,000 feet have areas of moderate danger, specifically on west to north to east facing slopes.
The danger is expected to increase through the rest of the week.
“If these storms slated for the weekend materialize, then the avalanche change is going to ramp up in a hurry, and could be up to considerable, maybe high in some terrain,” Hardesty said on KPCW’s Local News Hour Wednesday.
That’s because there’s a persistent weak layer of snow due to October and November’s intermittent storms.
“It just seems like every early season we have that snow that falls in October, November and rots and has all the strength of sugar,” Hardesty said. “So the most recent storms, which is not much, but enough to create some unstable conditions in some areas.”
The Utah Avalanche Center recommends backcountry visitors check the forecast before heading out. Condition updates are available on the Utah Avalanche Center’s website and are announced live on KPCW’s Local News Hour on weekdays.
