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Forecast for the Ogden Area Mountains

Paige Pagnucco
Issued by Paige Pagnucco on
Friday morning, February 23, 2018

A CONSIDERABLE danger exists on steep slopes in upper elevation terrain for wind slabs and loose dry sluffs. Dangerous avalanche conditions exist - careful snowpack evaluation, cautious routefinding, and conservative decision making are essential today for safe travel. Avoid travel on steep slopes with fresh wind drifts. Slopes harboring a thin snowpack are still suspect for persistent slab avalanches.

Excellent riding conditions exist on lower angle slopes. With over a foot of fresh, dry, classic Utah powder, today will likely offer the best of what's been an otherwise forgettable season.

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Weather and Snow

Sleeper storm alert! - Ben Lomond (7688') picked up over a foot of new snow in the last 24 hours with less than a half inch of water. Snowbasin picked up 14" with even less water content. It is a chilly morning with temps in the single digits to low teens F and southerly winds blowing 10-15 mph with ridgetop gusts nearing 30 mph. Riding conditions should be 5 star today and through the weekend as snowfall and cold temps continue.

Recent Avalanches

Ski area control teams found sensitive shallow wind slabs yesterday on ridgelines and around terrain features. There were no reports of avalanches, collapsing or cracking from the backcountry.

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Avalanche Problem #1
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description

Winds are currently out of the south but are forecasted to switch around the compass during the day. Though wind speeds will be in the low range, the availability of lots of light density snow will make forming softer wind slabs easy. This will be especially true along ridgelines and near terrain features in exposed terrain. Watch for signs of instability like cracking or collapsing. Avoid steep slopes with freshly wind drifted snow especially at the higher elevations. With snow this light you can find great riding conditions on lower angle slopes.

Avalanche Problem #2
New Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description

Loose dry snow sluffs are possible today in steep terrain. Be mindful as getting caught in this type of avalanche can still be dangerous as you can get knocked off your feet quickly.

Avalanche Problem #3
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description

With the newly added water weight from the past 24 hours, there is even more uncertainty with the lingering weaknesses both at the mid-pack (especially on the eastern edge of the Ogden mountains) and again with the more deeply buried early season weak layers. Tests and lack of deeper avalanches hint at good stability and yet a general poor structure of snow with faceted grains drives a conservative approach to avoid thinner snowpack areas or more consequential terrain, at least above 8000'. The tipping point is unknown but this type of avalanche could easily be triggered by a smaller avalanche that steps down.

Additional Information

Snowfall is expected to continue today and the mountains could pick up another 1-3", possibly more. Temps will be brisk today with highs only in the teens and wind chills approaching negative territory - toe warmers anyone? Light southerly winds will shift around to the west northwest during the day as well as become a bit stronger. The weather remains cold and unsettled ahead of another round of snow on Saturday which, as of now, is forecasted to drop 6-10". If that isn't enough for you, there's a storm setting up for Sunday night into Monday with maybe another 5-10" of what we've been waiting for all winter.

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This information does not apply to developed ski areas or highways where avalanche control is normally done. This advisory is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.

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