Avalanche Center Warns of Dangerous Conditions in Utah Backcountry This Weekend
The Utah Avalanche Center, which forecasts avalanche conditions throughout the Beehive State, is warning of dangerous avalanche conditions across all of Utah’s mountains this weekend in a Special Avalanche Bulletin.
“This week’s heavy snowfall and strong winds overloaded preexisting weak layers, creating a HIGH avalanche danger across the entire state. With improving weather moving in for the weekend, avalanche accidents are likely in the backcountry,” the organization wrote.
As of now, the Special Avalanche Bulletin remains in place until 6:00 a.m. Mountain Time Monday, February 23. To view the latest avalanche forecasts from the UAC, follow this link.
“Natural avalanches are possible, and people are likely to trigger avalanches on slopes steeper than 30 degrees,” the Bulletin continued. “Dangerous and deadly avalanches can be triggered remotely (from a distance or from below). People leaving ski area boundaries are entering the backcountry where the same dangerous avalanche conditions exist.”
Utah Avalanche Center
After a storm deposited multiple feet of snow, the avalanche danger has increased in western states from Utah to California. The storm cycle comes amid a largely snowless western ski season, likely contributing to pent-up demand.
In Utah, there have been two avalanche fatalities this week.
On Wednesday, a man snowmobiling with his son died. On Thursday, a girl was killed after getting caught by an avalanche in the backcountry adjacent to Brighton Resort. The UAC pointed to those incidents in its Bulletin, noting that there have also been several close calls and numerous backcountry avalanches reported.
Utah Avalanche Center
California also saw its deadliest avalanche in modern history on Tuesday when eight members of a 15-person group were killed. The ninth person is presumed dead.
According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, which also expressed concerns about avalanche accidents this weekend, about 70% of fatal avalanche accidents in the West occur within four days of a previous avalanche fatality.
“Weather events move from west to east through the western United States, and avalanche accidents often follow a similar pattern,” the CAIC’s director, Ethan Greene, said in a news release.
Avalanche.org provides a map with links to avalanche forecasts throughout the U.S.