The
Utah Avalanche Center Home page is: http://www.avalanche.org/~uac/
(click on) Utah Avalanche Center in Logan for our home
page
Logan
Hello
and good morning, this is Toby Weed of the
Current Conditions: Should be a pleasant, mostly sunny, and
warmer day in the backcountry. You’ll be
treated to a wide variety of snow conditions, ranging from softening
supportable sun-crusts on lower elevation sunny slopes to re-crystallized
powder-like snow in shady mid and upper elevation areas. The
Avalanche Conditions:
There have been no recent avalanches reported
in the Logan Area since Tuesday’s small storm when a few small soft natural
wind slabs released at upper elevations.
I noticed a couple small loose wet dribblers in lower
There
are a few very steep slopes in the region where you might trigger freshly
formed or older wind slab avalanches.
The danger is limited to isolated upper elevation slopes and/or slopes exposed
to significant wind drifting. Watch for
and avoid obvious drifts or wind slabs on very steep slopes. Hard wind slabs sometimes wait until you get
well out on them before releasing. Clues
include chalky looking or hollow sounding stiff snow and shooting cracks. Some of the huge cornices in the region and a
few existing hard slabs may also become a bit more sensitive with today’s
warming.
Although the activity will be limited by
sun crusts, solar warming will probably saturate the fresh surface snow on
sunny sheltered slopes causing a danger of wet point-release type avalanches. Thin clouds moving into the region this
afternoon could trap atmospheric heat exacerbating the problem. If you encounter saturated or sloppy snow on
a steep slope you should move on to a shadier and cooler area or head home.
Bottom Line: There’s a LOW danger and avalanches
are generally unlikely this morning on most steep slopes in the backcountry. There are exceptions, and you might find isolated
pockets with a MODERATE danger in exposed upper
elevation terrain on very steep slopes where you might trigger wind slab
avalanches. Also, solar warming could
cause a MODERATE danger of wet avalanches on sheltered
sunny slopes with saturated snow. Use
good snow assessment and safe travel techniques to minimize your risks in the
backcountry today.
Mountain
Weather: A high pressure system will control the weather today, and a
splitting storm will bring a threat of some snow to the region tomorrow. It’ll be noticeably warmer in the mountains
today, with high clouds moving in this afternoon. The southern portion of a weakening Pacific
storm will probably drop a few inches of snow on the
The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center in Logan is presenting an
Avalanche Fundamentals, Level 1 Class (Certification), starting March 14,
with field sessions on the 15th, and 22nd. Please register in advance with the Friends
via e-mail or for more information contact [email protected].
Check out
the images page for photos of some of
this season’s avalanches.
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.
