Utah avalanche danger still high with weekend snowstorms
Feb 12, 2021, 5:00 AM | Updated: 7:26 am
Avalanche Awareness week is Dec. 5 - 11. (FILE: Photo credit: Canva)
(FILE: Photo credit: Canva)
Utah mountains could see a lot more snow this weekend from a series of expected storms — but it’s the snow that fell weeks ago that worries avalanche forecasters like Craig Gordon. He describes the weak layer of snow in Utah’s mountains as as “house of cards.”
“It has got this super fragile shaky base,” Gordon said. “Our snowpack is exceptionally shallow and thin. It’s unusually weak. And now we’re going to put more snow on top of that.”
Gordon recommends anyone going into Utah’s backcountry to be prepared with emergency gear, including avalanche beacons. Most importantly, he said they need the most current information from the Utah Avalanche Center website.
Five people have died in avalanches in Utah in the past month.
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— KSL NewsRadio (@kslnewsradio) February 12, 2021
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