Utah Avalanche Center modernizes forecasting process with $1M grant

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Avalanche Center has received a $1 million grant to develop advanced avalanche forecasting technology that combines machine learning with traditional snow data collection methods.

The grant from the Utah Outdoor Recreation Initiative will fund the Next Generation Avalanche Forecasting Platform, which incorporates the Swiss-developed SLF SNOWPACK model alongside snowpack data, weather station data, satellite imagery, weather model and sensor data.

“We are excited about the potential of the Next Generation Avalanche Forecasting Platform to transform how we forecast avalanche conditions,” said Chad Brackelsberg of the UAC. “By simulating a wider range of snowpack scenarios, we can more accurately pinpoint unstable layers and better understand how the snowpack evolves over time.”

The platform completed successful trials near Alta during the past two snow seasons in collaboration with the University of Utah. This season, it will expand to the UAC’s Logan, Uinta, Skyline and Moab forecast regions.

UAC forecasters will first use the technology to refine the system before making it publicly available over the next two winter seasons. The platform aims to provide more accurate forecasts statewide, particularly in more remote areas with limited avalanche reporting, while also streamlining the forecasting process for UAC staff.

The system will also help detect snow condition anomalies and provide visual representations of snowpack conditions for both UAC forecasters and backcountry users. This will help with identifying particularly unstable layers in the snowpack that can lead to dangerous avalanche conditions.

“This technology will have the biggest impact on how we produce avalanche forecasts since regular forecasts first began being published in the 1990’s”, said Brackelsburg. The grant money will be received later this winter and dispersed across approximately two years.