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Forecast for the Logan Area Mountains

Toby Weed
Issued by Toby Weed on
Thursday morning, December 12, 2024
The avalanche danger is LOW in the backcountry, and although weak sugary snow is widespread, it is currently stable on most slopes.
Use normal caution. Keep your speed down to avoid hitting shallowly buried rocks, stumps, and downed trees.
Low
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Weather and Snow
People might trigger small avalanches of wind-drifted snow and should avoid recently formed drifts on upper elevation slopes steeper than 30°. Fairly strong winds out of the west earlier in the week elevated avalanche conditions a little bit in exposed upper-elevation terrain. Loose avalanches, or sluffs, consisting of cohesionless faceted snow, are possible on very steep slopes. Our greatest concern continues to be people hitting rocks, downed trees, and stumps. If you want to work for it, you can find pockets of cold, dry old snow in sheltered, shaded terrain.
-I'm reading one inch of new snow, 20 inches of total snow, and 28° F at the UAC Card Canyon weather station at 8700 feet above sea level.
-Currently, at 9700 feet in elevation at the CSI Logan Peak weather station, it's 26° F, and the wind is blowing 25 to 30 mph from the south.
-At 9500 feet, at the UAC Paris Peak weather station, it's 23° F, and winds are from the south-southwest, blowing 10 to 15 mph.
Expect partly sunny weather in the mountains today, with 8500-foot high temperatures around 35° F and winds blowing from the south 7 to 10 mph. Snow is likely in the mountains tonight and tomorrow, but less than 1/2 inch of accumulation is expected.
While I hesitate to get your hopes up, a Pacific storm forecast for this weekend is looking better this morning, with a possibility of 9 to 17 inches of total accumulation in the Bear River mountains Saturday night and Sunday. If this much-needed snowfall does occur, it will come in on widespread preexisting, very weak sugary snow, and the avalanche danger is likely to increase significantly in the backcountry.
For more information, visit the UAC weather page here: Weather - Utah Avalanche Center
For Logan-specific weather, go here: Logan Mountain Weather - Utah Avalanche Center
Not much in the way of powder, but the mountains are deceptively white at upper elevations in the Bear River Range. This is a view of Mt. Elmer in the Mt Naomi Wilderness from the north.
Recent Avalanches
No significant avalanches have been reported recently.
You can read all observations here.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Winds blowing from the west in the last few days and from the south overnight scoured snow off windward slopes and low-angled terrain in fetch areas and deposited it as stiff drifts or wind slabs where it decelerated in lee terrain.
  • People might trigger small avalanches of wind-drifted snow on recently drifted slopes steeper than 30°, where stiffer slabs formed on weak faceted snow.
  • Be vigilant in exposed, upper-elevation terrain facing northwest through southeast and in and around terrain features like gullies, rock outcroppings, and sub-ridges.
  • Getting caught in an avalanche right now is especially dangerous because of the abundance of fixed obstacles like stumps, rocks, and downed trees.
Additional Information
The weak sugary snow is only 1 to 2 feet deep, even in upper-elevation terrain. This is from 8800 feet on a north-facing slope in the Tony Grove Area.
General Announcements
-National Forest Winter Recreation Travel Maps show where it's open to ride: UWCNF Logan, Ogden LRD Tony Grove, Franklin Basin CTNF Montpelier
-Sign up for forecast region-specific text message alerts. You will receive messages about changing avalanche conditions, watches, and warnings...HERE.
-For all questions on forecasts, education, Know Before You Go, events, online purchases, or fundraising, call 801-365-5522.
-To report an avalanche or submit an observation from the backcountry, go HERE.
-Remember that the Tony Grove Road is not maintained for winter driving. Treacherous snow-covered and icy conditions will be encountered.
This forecast is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This forecast describes general avalanche conditions, and local variations always occur.
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