Here comes some heavy snowfall moving into the weekend. But don’t rush for your skis just yet — the warm temperatures are sure to make for some heavy, dense snow and higher dangers in the backcountry.
While last Saturday’s storm served for some slippery times for crowds during Sundance on Main Street, this weekend expects to see over 9 inches of snow in town. With 14 inches of snow expected at Deer Valley Resort and 19 at Park City Mountain, and accumulations likely at elevations over 8,000 feet, avalanche danger has been upgraded from moderate to high with dangerous conditions expected to develop in many areas.
Evan Thayer of OpenSnow summarized: “Snow levels are going to be tricky with this storm. Lower snow levels (around 6,000 feet) on Saturday, will rise Saturday night into Sunday and could reach above 8,000 feet on Sunday afternoon. That means accumulations will be confined to higher elevations and the snow will be “upside down,” with heavier, denser snow on top.”
Temperatures will warm throughout the weekend with a projected high of 36º Saturday and 44º Sunday, maintaining great snow at the high elevations, but leaving the potential for rain in town and at base areas.
“Overall, I think the totals for this storm are likely to be 12-24″ of moderate-to-high density snow above 8,000 feet by Monday. Areas in far northern Utah could certainly have pockets of 24-48″, but this will likely be in the highest elevations above 9,000 feet — unlikely to be reflected in resort totals. It’s possible that PC area may only see a few inches on Saturday, then rain on the lower half of the mountain on Sunday. Snowfall amounts very dependent on location and elevation this weekend,” said Thayer.
Utah Avalanche Center forecaster Greg Gagne wrote on Friday, “This weekend, heavy snow and strong winds will overload widespread weak surface snow and elevate the avalanche danger. Dangerous human-triggered and natural avalanches are likely. People should avoid travel in backcountry avalanche terrain and avoid avalanche runouts. Stay off of and out from underneath slopes steeper than 30 degrees.”
With winter storm warnings issued across the state, the outflux of Sundance travelers as the festival ends lies precariously in the balance as they expect travel delays through the weekend, with not much of a break until the next warmer storm bears down on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.