Avalanche Advisory
| Advisory: Logan Area Mountains | Issued by Toby Weed for February 25, 2013 - 6:25am |
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Above 8,500 ft.
7,000-8,500 ft.
5,000-7,000 ft.
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bottom line Heightened avalanche conditions exist, there is a MODERATE (or level 2) danger in the backcountry, and you could trigger wind slab avalanches up to around 2-feet-deep on drifted mid and upper elevation slopes. Dangerous persistent slab avalanches stepping down to weak January snow are possible on isolated or outlying slopes with poor snow structure and recent accumulations of drifted snow. Loose dry and moist sluffs involving fresh snow from the weekend are also possible in steep terrain. Evaluate the snow and terrain carefully, avoid steep drifted slopes, and continue to use good backcountry travel protocols.
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special announcement Go to http://www.backcountry.com/utah-avalanche-center to get tickets for Beaver Mountain. You won't save a ton of money, but all proceeds from sales of these tickets will benefit the Utah Avalanche Center, and It's super easy to do. |
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current conditions The Central Bear River Range picked up generally less than a foot of light powder from Saturday's storm, but more like two feet in Providence Canyon and the areas around Logan Peak. So conditions range from shallow powder on sun crusts at lower elevations to deep powder up high in sheltered areas in the Front Canyons... Expect stiff wind drifts in terrain exposed to west and northwest winds The Tony Grove Snotel reported eight inches of new snow and 67% of average total snow by around 4:00 on Saturday before the NRCS Website crashed.... It's a chilly 5 degrees at the 9700' CSI Logan Peak weather station and winds from the west-northwest picked up a bit overnight and are now averaging in the upper teens with gusts in the twenties... |
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recent activity No significant avalanches were reported over the weekend in the Logan Area Mountains... Here's a link to our updated Avalanche List.
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Avalanche Problem 1over the next 24 hours
| type | aspect/elevation | characteristics |
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Above 8,500 ft.
7,000-8,500 ft.
5,000-7,000 ft.
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description
Expect to find fresh wind slabs up to around 2 feet deep in upper and mid elevation terrain exposed to drifting. Saturday's storm included fairly strong south winds which veered around the west side of the compass, coming from the north-northwest by Saturday night. West-northwest winds increased overnight and are now averaging in the upper teens, which is enough to cause additional drifting in exposed terrain. In some areas, wind slabs built up on weak sugary snow that was on or near the snow surface in early February, and instability could persist for a little while. Avoid stiffer wind deposited snow on steep slopes, and watch for potential wind slabs in and around terrain features like sub-ridges, gullies, and cliff bands. Be cautious traveling along the high ridges, since overhanging cornices might break further back than expected, and cornice falls could trigger wind slab avalanches on slopes below.
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Avalanche Problem 2over the next 24 hours
| type | aspect/elevation | characteristics |
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Above 8,500 ft.
7,000-8,500 ft.
5,000-7,000 ft.
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description
Persistent slab avalanches might fail 2 to 3 feet deep on weak sugary faceted snow or basal layer depth hoar. Yesterday, I triggered a large and resounding whumpf or audible collapse on a lower angled sunny slope at mid elevations in the Beaver Creek area, and I found very weak faceted snow from January the culprit... You might trigger dangerous persistent slab avalanches in some areas remotely, from a distance or worse, from below. Steep, recently drifted, rocky, outlying upper and mid elevation slopes with generally shallow and weak snow cover and recent wind loads are the most suspect. Whumpfing and deep cracking are red flags indicating potential persistent slab instability.
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Avalanche Problem 3over the next 24 hours
| type | aspect/elevation | characteristics |
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Above 8,500 ft.
7,000-8,500 ft.
5,000-7,000 ft.
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description
Mostly manageable loose dry and moist sluffs involving Saturday's storm snow are likely in steep terrain today. Triggered dry sluffs are possible on steep slopes in areas that picked up significant accumulations of powder on Saturday.. The danger of moist sluffs may increase in sunny terrain as the day warms up. Increasing cloud cover could trap the morning's heat and green housing will likely cause the fresh surface snow to become damp and more prone to avalanching. |
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weather We'll see increasing clouds and winds from the west-southwest in the mountains today. High temperatures in the mountains will reach the mid twenties and a bit of snowfall is possible. A cold Pacific storm system will cross the region tonight through tomorrow, and 3 to 5 inches of accumulation is forecast for tonight in the mountains around Logan. Moderate west and northwest winds are expected overnight, with mountain temperatures dropping to around 10 degrees. Gradually building high pressure conditions will bring clearing and sunshine to the mountains through the remainder of the week.... Check out the new Logan Mountain Weather page...
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| general annoucements For a printer friendly version of this advisory click HERE Remember your information from the backcountry can save lives. If you see or trigger an avalanche, 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. |