Steep, shallow, and rocky terrain features, or areas that have previously avalanched are most suspect to have avalanches failing near the ground on a layer of buried facets. The PWL in the Ogden area is less in your face and we have heard of less activity on this layer than further south. Collapsing and whumpfing are signs of instability and these red flags may or may not be present prior to an avalanche failing on a persistent weak layer. Dig down into the snow to see if this layer is present before committing to a steeper objective.

With today's continued warming temperatures and the bright Utah sun solar facing aspects (southeast-south-west) will start to shed snow. Watch for snow falling off rocks and stay out of steep gully features as the day warms up. Roof-lines that are still holding snow may start to shed today. Be aware of children playing or adults shoveling solo or working around the house as they are the most vulnerable to roof slides.

There is a lot of snow available for transport on shady aspects and at the highest ridgelines. Yesterday there was a close call in the Central Wasatch involving a very lucky solo skier in Lisa Falls that was caught in a wind-drifted snow avalanche that took him for a 1500' ride over cliff band. You may find similar areas of wind-drifted snow near ridgetops in the Ogden area mountains.

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Look for and avoid rounded pillowy areas of drifted snow. These will most likely be close to or below ridgelines on all aspects and while they may not be big enough to bury you, they are more than enough to take you for a violent ride down the hill. Cornices are a great sign that the slope below has been wind-loaded and in some cases the combination of wind-drifted snow and the above mentioned PWL problem could make for large avalanches that would be unsurvivable if you were to be involved.