Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Logan Area Mountains Issued by Toby Weed for Friday - March 28, 2014 - 6:55am
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Heightened avalanche conditions exist in the backcountry and there's a MODERATE or level 2 danger this morning on drifted upper and mid elevation slopes. You could trigger large cornice falls or wind slab avalanches 1 to 2 feet deep in steep terrain with recent wind deposits. Rapid daytime warming could create dangerous conditions in some areas, and a CONSIDERABLE or level 3 danger of heat related or wet avalanches may develop on steep slopes in areas with significant fresh accumulations. Evaluate the snow and terrain carefully

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special announcement

Sale on all remaining discount lift tickets donated to the Utah Avalanche Center from Beaver Mountain, Wolf Mountain, Sundance, and Brian Head: The few remaining tickets are being blown out with all proceeds used to pay for avalanche advisories and education. Go here to get your tickets.

current conditions

Should be nice spring powder conditions today in the backcountry, but midday warming may cause dangerous avalanche conditions to develop in some areas. You'll find around bit less than a foot of new snow from yesterday above about 7000' in the Bear River Range, with more reported in the Front Canyons. The Tony Grove Snotel at 8400' reports 10 inches of new snow from yesterday, containing 1.2 inches of water. It's 24 degrees, and there's 109 inches of total snow, with 131% of average water content for the date. There's 8 new inches up at Beaver Mountain. It's 17 degrees at the 9700' CSI Logan Peak weather station, and I'm reading average wind speeds in the lower teens from the west currently.


recent activity

Apparently, two people triggered and were caught and carried by separate soft slab avalanches in the Central Wasatch Backcountry yesterday. No avalanches were reported recently in the Logan Zone. Visit our Backcountry Observations Page for details on the season's activity.
Avalanche Problem 1
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 24 hours
description
  • In most cases, fresh wind and storm slabs formed yesterday are well bonded to to dusty old snow that was on the surface during last week's warm spell, but there are probably some exceptions, especially in very steep terrain. Avoid stiffer, recently drifted fresh snow in steep lee terrain and in and around terrain features like gully walls, outcroppings, or under cliffs.
  • Avoid and stay out from under large and overhanging cornices along major ridge-lines, which are likely to break further back than you expect and could trigger avalanches on slopes below. It's especially important to stay out from under these guys during the heat of the day when some may naturally fail and calve off in large chunks.
Avalanche Problem 2
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 10 hours
description

Wet or heat related avalanches will become likely on slopes with significant fresh accumulations as the day warms up, and greenhousing or rapid warming could cause dangerous avalanche conditions to develop. Some natural loose and soft slab avalanches entraining significant piles of moist fresh snow are possible and triggered avalanches likely as slopes are initially heated and the new snow becomes damp and cohesive.
weather

Should stay mostly cloudy today, with a high temperature at 8500' around 35 degrees, and moderate west winds will hopefully keep things cool. Expect a low of 28 degrees tonight with mostly cloudy skies and increasing southwest wind. It'll be warmer and breezy tomorrow, and the next round of snowy weather is expected tomorrow night through Sunday, with 6 to 14 inches of total accumulation possible

Check out our one-stop weather page........HERE
general announcements

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Remember your information can save lives. If you see anything we should know about, please participate in the creation of our own community avalanche advisory by submitting snow and avalanche conditions. You can also call us at 801-524-5304 or 800-662-4140, email by clicking HERE, or include #utavy in your tweet or Instagram.

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I'll issue these advisories on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday mornings through March, and will then switch to issuing weekend and intermittent advisories through April.

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.