Strong southwest winds blowing 20-30 mph with gusts in to the 40's will combine with moderate snowfall to create wind slabs today. These will be of greatest concern on slopes that have existing snow cover, particularly northwest through east facing, high elevation terrain. These slopes have a smooth, shallow coating of weak faceted surface snow on top of a hard crust. The crust has essentially raised the ground level and, because it is smooth and widely distributed, will likely provide a nice bed surface for an avalanche to run on. Stay off of wind drifted steep slopes to avoid this problem.

Even a small ride in steep terrain can cause serious injury due to rocks, stumps and generally thin snowcover.

The current snowpack on shady slopes consists of crusts and sugary, faceted weak snow. If we get a decent shot of snow today, you'll likely encounter loose dry snow sluffs in sheltered, steep terrain. Though this type of avalanche is usually fairly predictable, it can knock you off your feet and, with generally thin snow cover, send you over rocks and other exposed hazards.

Stick to lower angle terrain where there's grass or a smooth surface underneath to avoid this problem as well as enjoy better riding conditions.

With forecasted snowfall totals around 6-12" for the Ogden area mountains, we might see just plain old storm slabs developing on high elevation and maybe a few mid elevation sheltered, steep slopes. The new snow is landing on old, weak snow so notice any red flags like collapsing as you travel today and adjust your terrain choices appropriately. Lower angle slopes are safer and will provide better riding conditions on our still early season-like, shallow snowpack.