Weather
The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for the La Sal and Abajo Mountains beginning at 12 PM Thursday and lasting through 6 AM Saturday. Heavy snow is expected above 7,000'. It looks to me like the bulk of the storm will kick in late tonight. Today, look for increasing clouds, a high temperature of 20 degrees, and chances for light snow showers. Winds are currently light out of the NE and will shift to the ESE and blow 10-15 MPH. Winds will be on the increase tonight. Tomorrow the winds shift to the SE and will blow 25 MPH with gusts up to 40 MPH. The heaviest snowfall will occur during these peak winds on Friday into Saturday. The Abajo range is in the direct track of this storm, and may pick up more snow than the La Sals. 10-20 inches of snow is possible by Saturday night. We should see a slight break in the weather on Sunday.
General Conditions
About 4 inches of new snow fell in the Abajo Range on Wednesday morning. This will be a nice refresh to the surface conditions. You'll find fun "dust on crust" conditions on solar aspects and soft, shallow powder riding on Northerly aspects. Conditions will improve in the coming days, but the avalanche danger will be on the rise. Heavy snowfall will be accompanied by strong winds and backcountry travelers need to anticipate changing conditions. The strong winds will blow and drift snow into slabs at the mid and upper elevations. This weekend, we will need to evaluate snow and terrain carefully, and make conservative decisions.
