As Weather Keeps Shifting, Back-country Experts Urge Caution
Apr 10, 2019, 7:24 PM | Updated: 7:25 pm
FAIRVIEW CANYON, Utah — The wild turkeys walking along the highway today outside of Fairview seem as confused as all of us.
What happened to spring?
Brett Kobernik knows that the treacherous conditions are very real, even into April.
He’s the forecaster for the Utah Avalanche Center who works along the Skyline Drive in Central Utah.
Like other forecasters, he’s been checking the ever-changing conditions of the snow daily, especially along Highway 31 between Fairview and Huntington.
Brett Kobernik speaks with KSL TV about backcountry conditions
“We’re dealing with a completely different avalanche dragon than it was just yesterday,” Kobernick said.
He took photos of a massive avalanche slide in Huntington Canyon just yesterday, that slid in the old Seeley fire burn scar.
“A wet snow avalanche caused by the weak snow by the ground getting heated up for the first time of the spring,” he added.
While this winter storm will ultimately add to the avalanche risk, Kobernik says the biggest risk right now is where the snow is shallow and weak.
He’s advising back-country skiers and snowmobilers to always check the forecast before they head out, especially as spring weather returns.
“Things change rapidly in the springtime, we can have snowstorms like this that bring a foot or two of snow and the next day, we have warm temperatures and we are dealing with much different avalanche situation then,” he said.
