SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The Utah Avalanche Center says this year has been an exceptional year, with nine avalanches reported on Tuesday alone. This included an avalanche in Morgan County where two people riding a snowcat had to be rescued. 

Normally, the center says hoarfrost presents the worst conditions. Hoarfrost is a granular snow that has a sugar-like consistency. Utah hasn’t seen much of that this season, but the constant snowstorms are making the snow unstable. 

Utah Avalanche Center Forecaster Drew Hardesty said between all the snow Utah’s received and the high winds, it’s been hard for the snow to build a base. 

“It’s just not letting the glue dry. It’s continually adding stress to those layers within the snowpack, and we’re going to continue to see avalanches two to five feet deep,” Hardesty said. 

Hardesty said conditions in the mountains would improve if it stopped snowing. 

“And we need a very slow gradual warm-up where it’s not [rapid crazy], like a slow incremental warm-up where those cold storm layers can start to slowly gain strength and bond,” said Hardesty. 

At last check, mountains in the Logan, Ogden, Uintas, Salt Lake and Provo areas were listed as considerable danger for avalanches. That means natural and human-triggered avalanches are likely.