Hello and good morning, this is Toby Weed of the
Current Conditions:
A couple
inches of cold fluff fell overnight in the mountains, only making backcountry
conditions a bit more powdery. Most upper elevation slopes picked up a good two
feet over the weekend, and area Snotel sites reported 2 to almost 4 inches of
accumulated snow water equivelent. Deep snow
from the weekend storms caused difficult travel conditions yesterday, with
trail breaking or getting the sled stuck the main issues. This kept us out of trouble, as most of the
big avalanche paths in the region stayed unattainable and so remained untracked…Saturday’s
wet wind-blasted snow set up like plaster once temperatures dropped, but we
found good powder conditions up in Franlin Basin yesterday, thanks to Sunday’s
nice additional foot of graupely snowfall.
It’s a chilly 3 degrees at the 9400’ Campbell Scientific weather station
on Logan Peak with a 15 to 20 mph west wind.
Expect increasing snowfall and winds this afternoon into evening.
Avalanche
Conditions:
We have reports of a large intentionally
triggered avalanche in the
The problem, and a good thing, is
that the potential Deep Slab instability caused by faceted or sugary snow near
the ground is now so deeply buried that your weight alone is probably not
enough to activate it. So, you might not
get any tell-tail signs of danger until you actually trigger the slab from a
shallow spot. Potential large hard slab avalanches could be several feet deep,
very broad and deadly. Possible trigger
spots include rocky or generally shallow areas, like cliffy areas or upper
elevation slopes scoured by previous northwest winds.
Starting this afternoon,
increasing snowfall and strengthening southwest winds will cause a rising
danger. Watch for the dangerous
combination of depth hoar and recent drifting at mid and lower elevations.
Bottom Line:
There
is a MODERATE danger
and you could trigger dangerous avalanches on some steep slopes in the
backcountry, mainly in exposed upper elevation terrain. Use good snow assessment and safe travel techniques
to minimize your risk. With heavy
snowfall and strong wind in the forecast, the danger will likely rise and
become more widespread this evening and overnight.
Mountain Weather:
As yet
enother winter storm approaches, the National Weather Service has issued a Winter
Storm Warning for the mountains of Northern Utah for midday today through
tomorrow evening. Light snow will
develop this afternoon and intensify tonight.
A southwest wind will also intensify tonight, shifting from the
northwest tomorrow but likely remaining strong and gusty. Snowfall in the mountains will be heavy at
times tonight and tomorrow.
General Information:
Check out photos of avalanches in
the Logan Area on our images page.
Go to the Avalanche Encyclopedia if
you have any questions about terms I use in the advisory
I'm very interested to know what
you're seeing out there. Please e-mail observations to me at [email protected] or leave me a message at 755-3638,
especially if you see or trigger an avalanche in the backcountry. We keep all
observations confidential.
This advisory will expire in 24 hours
from the posting time.
The information in this advisory is from the U.S. Forest
Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory
describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.