Forecast: Ogden Area Mountains - Utah Avalanche Center

Forecast for the Ogden Area Mountains

Issued by Trent Meisenheimer on
Sunday morning, January 19, 2025

The avalanche danger is MODERATE on all aspects at the mid-and upper elevations where there are fresh soft slabs of wind-drifted snow.

The avalanche danger is also MODERATE On upper-elevation aspects facing northwest through north and east, where it remains possible to trigger an avalanche failing in a persistent weak layer buried 2-3 feet deep. Human-triggered avalanches are possible.

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High

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Join the UAC at Deer Valley on January 30th for the 2nd Annual Blizzard Ball Gala. The night will be full of fun including delicious cuisine, live music, an auction, and presentation by Bruce Tremper.

Weather and Snow

Snow totals vary depending on the location. The Ben Lomond area looks like it picked up 2-4 inches of snow with 0.25 inches of water. Powder Mountain reported 6 inches of snow with 0.30 inches of water. Dave Kelly was out towards Monte and they found closer to 10 inches of snow. Sharp Mountain picked up 14 inches of snow. It seems like the east side of the Ogden Mountains did better than the classic Ogden Skyline.

Unfortunately, overnight, the wind picked up out of the west again and now blows at speeds of 10-15 mph with gusts into the 20s. Bring a puffy coat today, as mountain temperatures are in the single digits across the range. Let's not forget the wind chill out there right now, ranging from -7 to -23 °F.

Today, we will remain under a cold northwest flow, and at times, there will be snow flurries depending on where you are. Snowfall is not expected to exceed a few inches of low-density snow. The skies will be partly cloudy, and you can't rule out some sunshine in some locations. Mountain temperatures will remain chilly, with daytime highs ranging from 15-18 °F.

Recent Avalanches

It sounds like the sun came out yesterday and was strong enough to warm up some southerly-facing terrain. Natural wet-loose avalanches were reported off Willard Peak. See observation HERE. Dave Kelly was out in the Monte area yesterday and be sure to catch their observation HERE.

Type

Location

Likelihood

Size

Description

The northwest wind continues to be active, with plenty of low-density snow blowing around. Because of this, I would expect sensitive drifts of windblown snow across all mid- and upper elevations. These avalanches will be soft slabs of wind-drifted snow that could be extra sensitive because they either formed over a slick sun crust (sunny side) or our weak and faceted snow surface (shady side). These avalanches could be 6-12 inches deep.

On Friday, I went to the North Ogden Divide towards Lewis Peak and found shallow sensitive slabs of wind-drifted snow (video below).

Type

Location

Likelihood

Size

Description

There exists a buried layer of faceted snow 2-4 feet deep at the mid and upper elevations on aspects facing northwest through east. The last avalanche reported on this layer occurred before the New Year and this problem is trending toward dormancy.

You are most likely going to trigger an avalanche failing on this persistent weak layer in steep, rocky terrain where there is a thin and shallow snowpack.

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This information does not apply to developed ski areas or highways where avalanche control is normally done. 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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