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Forecast for the Logan Area Mountains

Toby Weed
Issued by Toby Weed for
Thursday, January 10, 2013

Expect a rising avalanche danger and the onset of a strong and cold winter storm in the mountains today . Heightened avalanche conditions already exist in places, and there is a MODERATE (or level 2) danger in the backcountry today. You could trigger wind slab avalanches in drifted terrain. Storm snow avalanches will become possible this afternoon on steep slopes with significant accumulations of new snow, and the danger of wind slab avalanches will increase. The danger may rise to CONSIDERABLE (or level 3) on drifted upper elevation slopes, with triggered wind slab avalanches becoming probable by evening. Careful snowpack evaluation, cautious route-finding, and conservative decision making will become essential in the backcountry today.

Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
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Special Announcements

The friends of the Utah Avalanche Center in Logan is presenting a snowmobile avalanche safety clinic in Logan, with a classroom session on Thursday.January 17 and a field session up at Tony Grove on Saturday January 19. Save the date, call 435-757-2794 for more information, and visit our website to register..... HERE

Weather and Snow

Expect rising avalanche danger today and the onset a strong and cold winter storm. This morning, we'll find very warm mountain temperatures and strong south winds. The wind will shift around from the west with an early afternoon frontal passage, and we can expect snowfall to be heavy at times today. Sleet, mist and/or freezing rain Tuesday created a nice creme brulee rime/rain-crust on the surface of the fine re-crystallized New Years powder. This appears to be widespread in the Logan Zone, and we found it in openings from around 6500' in elevation up to our high point at close to 9000' .

The Tony Grove Snotel at 8400' reports an inch of new snow in the past 24 hours. It's a balmy 35 degrees this morning, there is 43 inches of total snow, and 73% of average water content for the date. The CSI Logan Peak weather station at 9700' reports 26 degrees, and south winds averaging around 40 mph , with a gust close to 70 mph early this morning.

Recent Avalanches

Apparently a couple riders were involved in an avalanche late yesterday up in Providence Canyon. They survived the avalanche but lost their sleds and had to walk out of the canyon last night. Details about the avalanche and the incident are slim at this point, but we'll try to find out more information and investigate the avalanche, if we can find it , today. Stay tuned, and we'll post more details on our Website as soon as we can.

Here's a link to our avalanche list...

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Avalanche Problem #1
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description

Expect a rising danger of wind slab avalanches in exposed terrain today. Some wind slabs already exist on the lee side of major ridges and in and around terrain features like cliff bands, sub-ridges, gullies, and scoops. Drifts are and will continue building on weak sugary faceted surface snow. Avoid stiff wind drifts on steep slopes. These often appear smooth or rounded and chalky looking, and they sometimes sound rather hollow. Cracking in drifted snow is a red flag requiring reevaluation of your route. Expect strong winds both before and after frontal passage, with south winds this morning veering from the west and west-northwest by afternoon. Fresh wind slabs may rapidly develop by this afternoon, with heavy snowfall and continued drifting expected.

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Avalanche Problem #2
New Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description

The danger of storm snow and soft slab avalanches will also rise with heavy snowfall this afternoon, and continue to elevate overnight tonight. Avoid and stay out from under steep slopes and avalanche paths during periods of very heavy snowfall. If you are planning to camp in the mountains, be sure to set up well away from steep slopes that might naturally avalanche during the storm.

Additional Information

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for all the mountains of Utah from noon today through Saturday morning...This storm is expected to bring a good shot of much needed snow to our mountains and should scour the smoggy air out of Cache Valley. Expect mild temperatures this morning and strong south winds. The wind will shift from the west-northwest with frontal passage early this afternoon and snowfall will intensify. Snow is likely to continue overnight and tomorrow in the mountains and continue tomorrow with a foot or two of new snow accumulating by Saturday morning. 3 to 5 inches of accumulation are possible by this evening, with 5 to 9 additional by early tomorrow morning. Snowfall will continue through Friday. A very cold northwest flow will develop over the weekend and persist into next week.

Check out the Logan Mountain Weather page...

General Announcements

Remember your information from the backcountry can save lives. If you see or trigger an avalanche in the backcountry or see anything else we should know about, please send us your snow and avalanche observations. You can also call us at 801-524-5304 or email by clicking HERE. In the Logan Area you can contact Toby Weed directly at 435-757-7578.

I will update this advisory on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday mornings by around 7:30...

This advisory is produced by the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. It describes only general avalanche conditions and local variations always exist.

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