Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Logan Area Mountains Issued by Toby Weed for Saturday - February 21, 2015 - 7:24am
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The snow is mostly stable and the avalanche danger remains LOW (or level 1) on most slopes in the backcountry. Heightened avalanche conditions and pockets of Level 2, danger may exist or develop today on some drifted upper elevation slopes, with manageable shallow triggered wind slab avalanches possible.

  • Evaluate the snow and terrain carefully in drifted upper elevation terrain.
  • Watch for barely covered rocks and shallow snow conditions at mid-elevations.

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special announcement


Practicing avalanche rescue in debris from a fresh sled-triggered avalanche up at Tony Grove. (2-7-15)

*****Special thanks to Buttar's of Tremonton and ArcticCat for hooking us up with the light and powerful M8000, which is featured in UAC Logan's Practicing Companion Rescue video........HERE

current conditions

It's a powder day! Dust off the goggles and wax the boards! The Bear River Range picked up a few inches of fresh snow overnight, which will freshen up riding conditions significantly, and it will not be enough added wieght to cause much of an avalanche problem. The Tony Grove Snotel reports 5 inches of new snow in the last 24 hours, containing 0.4 inches of water. There's 71 inches of total snow containing 101% of average water for the date, and it's 21 degrees at the 8400' site. The UDOT Hwy 89 Logan Summit weather station reports 19 degrees, and calm to light and variable winds overnight and continuing this morning.

***New Observation Video from Steep Hollow on 2-20-2015, in which I found pooled graupel under the cliffs.........HERE

recent activity

No avalanches were reported locally since the first week of February.

Visit our Backcountry Observations Page for more local information and from across the state.

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

The snow is stable in most areas and avalanches are generally unlikely. A few inches of new snow isn't enough to cause much of an increase in danger, but shallow wind slabs may form fairly quickly at upper elevations, and more than expected accumulation today could create heightened conditions in drifted upper elevation terrain. Other objective hazards to watch for in the mountains today include loss of control or slide-for-life potential in steep terrain on smooth and solidly refrozen snow just under the new snow, and hitting shallowly buried rocks or other hazards at mid and lower elevations. Minimize resource damage and avoid riding over sage and/or bare ground.

weather

Some accumulating snow is possible in the mountains again today, with continuing snow showers likely, and it'll be mostly cloudy with sustained west-northwest wind and 8500' high temperatures around 31 degrees. 1 to 3 inches of accumulation are forecast. Snow showers will continue tonight, temperatures will drop into the mid teens, and an inch or two of accumulation is possible. It'll be mostly sunny, breezy, and cold tomorrow in the mountains tomorrow, with a high temperature of 18 degrees and a sustained and fairly strong southeast wind. Looks like a change in the weather pattern, with more sustained storminess likely to develop over the region in the middle of next week.

***Check out our one-stop weather page........HERE

general announcements

***Advisories by email for the Logan Zone.  Go here for details.

*** Utah Avalanche Center mobile app 

Discount lift tickets are now available at Backcountry.com.  Thanks to Ski Utah and the Utah Resorts.  All proceeds go towards paying for Utah Avalanche Center avalanche and mountain weather advisories.

Benefit the Utah Avalanche Center when you shop from Backcountry.com or REI:  Click this link for Backcountry.com or this link to REI, shop, and they will donate a percent of your purchase price to the UAC.  Both offer free shipping (with some conditions) so this costs you nothing!

***Please submit snow and avalanche observations from your ventures in the backcountry HERE. You can call us at 801-524-5304 or email HERE, or include #utavy in your Instagram or Tweet us @UAClogan. To report avalanche activity in the Logan Area or to contact the local avalanche forecaster call me, Toby, at 435-757-7578. 

I'll regularly update this advisory on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday mornings by about 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.