An inch or two of new snow fell at the highest elevations in the Bear River Range, painting the scene white and hiding some of the rocks. The new snow did not change avalanche conditions much, but winds blowing from the southwest yesterday afternoon probably drifted some snow and may have formed a few small hard wind slabs on facets in exposed places up high. Our greatest concern today continues to be people hitting rocks, downed trees, and stumps. You can still find pockets of cold, dry old snow in sheltered, shaded terrain, but you'll have to work for it.
-The 8500' Tony Grove Snotel reports 2 inches of new snow in the last 24 hours. It's 16°F and there is 18 inches of total snow on the ground.
-Currently, at 9700' at the CSI Logan Peak weather station, it's 9°F, and the wind is blowing 18 to 24 mph from the northwest.
-At 9500' at the UAC Paris Peak weather station it's also 9°F, and winds are from the north, blowing 15 to 20 mph.
Expect partly sunny and cold weather in the mountains today, with a chance for a few more snow showers. High temperatures around 19° F are expected at 8500 feet, winds blowing from the northwest 6 to10 mph, and wind chill values as low as 2°F.
A return to high pressure is expected Tuesday, but this will hopefully be short-lived, with another dry cold front expected to pass over the area on Thursday. It's too early to get your hopes up, but another small storm could bring a few inches to the mountains next weekend.
We took advantage of yesterday's nice weather to install new instruments at the Card Canyon weather station. Thanks to Nate Z. and Devon for helping with transport and Travis M. and Chad B. for the installation.
No significant avalanches have been reported recently.
