Expect increasing winds and clouds today, but the high angled April sun and seasonal daytime warmth will again soften up the snow surface by midday, especially in sheltered terrain. If you start sinking into wet snow or observe signs of wet snow instability, it's time to reevaluate your route so that you avoid steep terrain.
A windy storm will impact the Logan Zone later today, and several inches of accumulation is possible on upper elevation slopes by evening, especially in the northern Bear River Range. Increasingly strong winds blowing from the west-southwest will drift the fresh snow, creating shallow wind slabs in exposed terrain. Depending on accumulation amounts, by later this afternoon and this evening, people could trigger small avalanches of wind drifted snow on slopes steeper than 30°.
The 8400' Tony Grove Snotel reports 31°F, and there is 56 inches of total snow at the site, containing 68% of normal SWE. It's a little hard to read the remote station data this morning, but it looks like an inch or two of fresh snow may have accumulated in some areas of the Bear River Range. Increasing southwest winds are blowing around 25 mph at the 9700' CSI Logan Peak weather station, where overnight temperatures were only a couple degrees below freezing, and it's 28°F this morning.
- A windy storm will clip the Bear River Range, and significant accumulation is possible, especially in the northern part of the Logan Zone. Expect the avalanche danger to increase at upper elevations in the backcountry due to drifting.
- This morning, temperatures at 8500' will top out around 41°F, and we expect increasing cloudiness and winds blowing from the west-southwest. Snow showers are likely in the afternoon, with 2 to 4 inches of accumulation possible and blowing snow.
- Snow could be heavy at times tonight, especially in the northern Bear River Range, and blowing snow is a good bet. 4 to 8 inches of snow accumulation is possible on upper elevation slopes. Low temperatures will drop to around 17°F and west winds will blow around 35 mph, with gusts well over 50 mph likely.
- Tomorrow, we'll see mostly cloudy skies, diminishing snow showers, steady temperatures around 23°F, and continuing strong west winds, blowing 30 to 35 mph and gusting around 50 mph. Little if any additional accumulation is expected.
- It will be could and blustery tomorrow night, with low temperatures around 12°F, and decreasing 25 to 30 mph west winds pushing wind chill values as low as -2°F.
- Fair and mostly sunny weather with gradual warming is expected beginning Wednesday and lasting through the work week.
Conditions were quite a bit different last weekend than the one before, with much colder temperatures and much more stable snow in the backcountry. Exceptionally warm weather at the end of March caused a fairly widespread natural wet avalanche cycle in the Logan Zone, with several large wet slab and numerous wet loose avalanches observed.
A large natural wet loose avalanche from the warm spell in Three Terraces, upper Providence Canyon, looks like it was triggered by a cornice fall overrunning the slope.
Check out all the recent backcountry observations and many recent avalanche reports from across Utah
HERE.