The Utah Avalanche Center issued a special
© Utah Avalanche CenterThe Utah Avalanche Center issued a special avalanche bulletin for dangerous conditions Friday.
Utah's most recent storm officially brought as much as 71 inches, or just shy of 6 feet, of snow by the Alta lifts between Sunday and Friday mornings, according to updated information from the National Weather Service.

Snowbird Resort added 56 inches, or more than 4½ feet of snow, as well. Many mountains received multiple feet of new snow.

And while multiple days of heavy snow this week may be good for Utah's snowpack, it's creating dangerous conditions for avalanches, even at lower elevations near parking lots and trailheads.

That's according to the Utah Avalanche Center, which issued a special avalanche bulletin for "unusually dangerous avalanche conditions" on Friday. The bulletin applies to slopes facing northwest through east at all elevations, "where triggering avalanches is likely." The advisory remains in place through the weekend.


"We might add west and southeast to mid-elevation slopes to be wary of," said "UAC Logan" in a response on Twitter. "Be conservative today if you head into the backcountry."

The Utah Avalanche Center said it issued the bulletin after "three significant avalanche accidents" occurred at lower elevation levels in the past week. Two accidents required the help of search and rescue teams to evacuate victims, and another victim was knocked unconscious before being able to evacuate themselves.

In one accident in Neffs Canyon, a 35-year-old man was partially buried and rescued following an intense eight-hour effort.


"What is unusual is that each of these avalanche accidents took place in the lower elevation bands below 8,000 feet," the center said in a news release. "What this means is that these avalanches can occur not far from parking lots or trailheads. These dangerous avalanches are 1-4 feet deep at the top fracture line and easily triggered from below."

Avalanche danger is considerable in the mountains near Logan, Ogden, the Uintas, Salt Lake County, Provo, Skyline and Moab, according to the Utah Avalanche Center website. There have been 31 avalanches across Utah in the past week, more than half of which were caused by skiers, snowboarders and/or snowmobilers.

Avalanches can occur on slopes that are steeper than 30 degrees. In a video, officials recommended using smartphone apps to determine slope grade, and said to give a wide berth to trails or parking lots next to steep slopes.

As for other final storm totals in lower elevations away from avalanche risk, the Bountiful Bench and Liberty, Weber County, each ended up with nearly 2 feet of snow from Sunday through Friday. Salt Lake City officially received 14 inches of snow over the course of the week, the most it has received from one storm in nearly two years.

Even southern Utah received quite a bit of snow. About 9½ inches of snow fell at Bryce Canyon National Park, while Kanab received 6½ inches.

Contributing: Carter Williams