Wednesday - December 26, 2007 - 7:18 am

SUMMARY >>>

The avalanche danger will be on the rise today and through the night.
The avalanche danger starts out at MODERATE for people triggering
recent wind drifts as well as slides breaking in to old snow.  Wind
drifts are found mostly on easterly facing upper elevation slopes and
the areas breaking into older snow are the upper elevation northerly
facing slopes.  Avalanches breaking into old snow have very serious
consequences.  The danger will most likely rise to CONSIDERABLE as the
day progresses and the snow piles up.
Forecaster: Brett 

CURRENT CONDITIONS >>>

Temperatures dipped below freezing at a number of mountain locations
last night but have been on the rebound for a number of hours.  Winds
slowed yesterday but increased slightly at the upper elevations
overnight and are now in the 10 to 15 mph range gusting into the 30s
at the most exposed locations.

RECENT AVALANCHES AND SNOWPACK INFO >>>

There was natural slab and loose snow avalanche activity during the
previous windy snow event Monday night.  By Christmas morning this
natural activity had passed and the wind slabs were becoming more
stubborn.  Most people out in the backcountry reported mostly stable
conditions within the newest snow during the day on Tuesday.  Control
work at the ski resorts on Tuesday brought out a few avalanches that
broke into old snow as well as numerous wind slabs.

AVALANCHE CONCERNS >>>

For today we will see a rising avalanche danger as snow starts to pile
up.  Winds shouldnt be as much of a factor as the last storm but keep
in mind that most natural avalanche activity occurs during the
storms.  Watch for periods of intense snowfall as avalanche conditions
can change rapidly when we see snowfall rates in the 2 inch per hour
range for a few hours.

I need to continue to mention the possibility of triggering a slide
into older weak snow as well.  Areas where the snowpack is deep such
as the upper Cottonwoods show improvement with the underlying weak
snow.  However, I do not trust those slopes just yet.  Areas where the
snowpack is shallower are more suspect.  Keep in mind that the snow in
the high north aspects went through an entire month with weather
conditions ripe for faceting or weakening the snow.  This is longer
then we usually see and we should treat it as conditions that were not
always use to.  Expect the unexpected.

MOUNTAIN WEATHER >>>

A cold winter storm will start affecting our area this morning with
the passage of a weak cold front around mid morning.  A period of cold
unstable air should produce good orographic lift producing a good shot
of snow today through Thursday morning.  Conditions will be favorable
for lake enhancement.  A foot to a foot and a half of snow is
expected.  Locally higher amounts wouldnt be a surprise with
cooperation from the lake.  Snow densities will be low.