Cottonwood Canyons
Weather DashboardTM
Updated January 17 @ 6:26 am

At 4:14 pm on January 16, @UDOTavy tweeted, "Backcountry Closure, LCC Hellgate Gazex, 6:00 AM to 5:00 PM 01/17 Hellgate Gazex Closure pic.twitter.com/Y5BGYQRiqD"

At 4:14 pm on January 16, @UDOTavy tweeted, "Backcountry Closure, LCC Mid North Side, 6:00 AM to 5:00 PM 01/17 Gate B to Hellgate Condo pic.twitter.com/IjhzUzZZ8K"

Current Conditions

At 6:00 am, the temperature near the top of Brighton's Crest chairlift was 18 degrees. Winds at the top of Brighton's Great Western chairlift are averaging 20 mph out of the west-southwest with gusts to 34. In the last 12 hours, the snow depth near the top of Brighton's Crest chairlift has increased 41 inches. In the last 4 weeks, the depth has increased 23 inches.

Forecast Conditions

The forecast says that today, from 5:00 am to 5:00 pm, there is an 80 percent chance of 6 to 12 inches of snow and a 20 percent chance of 4 to 6 inches. The daytime high temperature will be 24 degrees. And from 5:00 pm today until 5:00 am tomorrow, no new snow is expected. The nighttime low temperature will be 8 degrees.

Avalanche Forecast

The Utah Avalanche Center's avalanche forecast for the Salt Lake area on Thursday, January 16, says, "The danger may not look much different from recent days, but recent strong winds have dramatically changed conditions. Today, look for signs of wind drifted at all elevations, and avoid those slopes. Today, a CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger exists on all upper elevation slopes, and north, east and west-facing mid-elevation slopes with recent deposits of wind drifted snow. Human triggered avalanches are likely with naturals possible, particularly with cornice failure. Large cornices have been falling and more should fall today with high winds and warm temperatures. Some localized terrain still possesses the potential to step down into the older weak layers deeper in the snowpack. A MODERATE danger exists at south-facing mid-elevation slopes and all low elevations where wind drifts can exist on isolated terrain features. ROOF AVALANCHES - With so much snow on roofs in mountain valleys, warm temperatures may cause snow to slide off roofs. These can be deadly especially for children playing near a house. A few roof avalanches were reported in Big Cottonwood Canyon."