Forecast: Ogden Area Mountains - Utah Avalanche Center

Avalanche Watch

What: Heavy snowfall and strong winds are expected to rapidly increase avalanche danger across northern and central Utah beginning Tuesday and continuing through the week. Forecasters at the Utah Avalanche Center expect dangerous and complex avalanche conditions to develop on many slopes, with large natural and human-triggered avalanches likely.

When: The Avalanche Watch is issued on Monday, 2/16/26 at 6:00 AM MST through 6:00 AM MST Tuesday, 2/17/26.

Where:
The Avalanche Watch is for the mountains of Northern, Central, and Southwestern Utah as well as Southeastern Idaho, including:

The Wasatch Range
The Bear River Range
The Western Uinta Mountains
The Wasatch Plateau
The Tushars

Impacts:

Dangerous avalanche conditions are expected to develop on many slopes.
Avalanches can be triggered on slopes steeper than 30 degrees. They may also be triggered remotely (from a distance) or from below.

What to do:

Avoid traveling on or underneath steep terrain at mid and upper elevations in the backcountry.
Carry and know how to use avalanche rescue equipment, including a transceiver, shovel, and probe.
Find safer riding conditions on slopes less than 30 degrees with no overhead hazard.

For updated avalanche information, visit www.utahavalanchecenter.org.

Special Announcements

Join the UAC for the first "Stay and Play Avalanche Course" at Bear River Lodge in the Uintas, March 19th-22nd. This course is designed for snowmobilers by snowmobilers, where you will learn avalanche rescue, riding skills, and how to survive in the backcountry. Come enjoy all the luxury offerings at Bear River Lodge and improve your skills along the way.

You can find details and sign up HERE.

Weather and Snow

6 am: Skies are partly cloudy and temperatures range from 25°-35° F. Winds are blowing from the south/southwest and strong, with gusts of 30-45 mph along exposed slopes and ridges at the mid and upper elevations.

Today: Skies will become mostly cloudy with temperatures in the upper 30's °F. Winds will increase throughout the day.

Tonight and into Tuesday: Strong winds, with gusts over 50 mph along exposed mid and upper-level ridges. Heavy snowfall overnight and into Tuesday, with 6-10 inches of new snow by late Tuesday.

Heavy snowfall is expected again Wednesday and Thursday, with snowfall totals of two to three feet by later Thursday.

Recent Avalanches

We received no observations from Sunday, but two reports from Saturday include

- Josh Martineau on Bountiful Peak

- Derek DeBruin on Cutler Ridge

Both Josh and Derek reported a poor snowpack structure of faceted snow.

You can view all recent observations here.

Type

Location

Likelihood

Size

Description

The January dry spell left a widespread persistent weak layer (PWL) of faceted snow northerly-facing slopes at the mid and upper elevations, including upper-elevation slopes facing west and east, and this layer is now buried underneath the 6-14 inches of snow from this past Wednesday. This PWL is evident in the gray stripe shown in the photo below from Kaufman near Monte Cristo on Friday . Watch UAC Director Paige Pagnucco's video under Additional Info (below) on how this PWL has developed.

Wind-loaded slopes are the most likely to avalanche on this PWL where the wind has created a stronger slab above this buried PWL.

This PWL structure will create dangerous avalanche conditions with heavy snowfall and strong winds beginning later today and lasting through much of this week.

Additional Information

Learn more about Persistent Weak Layers in the video above -

General Announcements

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.

Observations and Avalanches

Backcountry Emergency Procedures