We had a big storm come through in the valleys which means it dumped lots of snow in the higher elevations.  Castle Country Radio was able to speak over the telephone with the Utah Avalanche Center’s Brett Kobernik about the latest conditions taking place out in the backcountry.

“A solid two feet of snow across the Skyline from the north end down to the south end and a bit more in some places, 27 to 30 inches at some of the stations that I monitor up there. So that was a really intense storm, and there was quite a bit of wind along with it,” said Kobernik. At the beginning of the storm, it produced a very dense snow that really helped avalanche conditions become somewhat stable and sturdy at the base.

Along with this storm there were high winds involved which means the winds were more intense in the high terrain. “Now there was a bunch of wind with that storm as well and that’s what spiked the avalanche danger a bit. There was some natural avalanche activity during the storm, but things quickly stabilized and were generally back to a low to moderate danger now and that’s what we’ll be looking at through the weekend,” stated Kobernik. The conditions are now manageable and perfect for outdoor enthusiasts to get outdoors this coming weekend.

We are at the tail end of the season which means at least one more big storm should pass through as Kobernik explains, “It looks to me like we’re going to have another storm moving through mid-week, its looks like the next significant storm I guess I would say. Then I am seeing a fairly stout ridge of high pressure and quite warm temperatures coming up around, some where between the 17th and the 20th of the month. So things are going to really quiet down for a period then.” As we go into the weekend, we will see low to moderate avalanche rating for the Skyline area.

The first thing you should do before heading out to the mountains is to know what the conditions are going to be like. “Arming yourself with a little information before heading up is the best at to do that https://utahavalanchecenter.org/ is the place to look for avalanche information, if you’re headed up to the mountains. Things change drastically from day to day or can change drastically, so check that forecast out every morning before you head out, and you’ll get the latest information and you can go up there a recreate safely,” said Kobernik.