Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Logan Area Mountains Issued by Toby Weed for Saturday - March 11, 2017 - 6:57am
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Clearing skies and cold temperatures overnight solidified slushy surface snow, and the danger is LOW in the backcountry this morning. Warmth and solar heating will soften saturated surface snow and create heightened wet avalanche conditions in sunny terrain. Cornice fall and glide avalanches are possible. Use normal caution, and stay off of and out from under large cornices, glide cracks, and steep slopes with warmth-softened saturated snow.




special announcement

Discount lift tickets for Beaver Mountain, Snowbasin, Powder Mountain, and the Central Wasatch resorts are donated by the resorts to benefit the Utah Avalanche Center. Details and order information here.

current conditions

Temperatures across the zone dropped below freezing last night, and clearing skies allowed for long wave radiation heat loss. The wet surface snow should be solidly refrozen this morning. The Tony Grove Snotel ​at 8400' reports 27 F and one inch of snow overnight. There is 119" of total snow, with 174% of average SWE (Snow Water Equivalent)​. It's 22 F at the 9700' CSI Logan Peak weather station, and there's a 12 mph northwest wind. Solar warming and rising temperatures will quickly soften the snow surface, and heightened wet avalanche conditions will develop in sunny terrain by afternoon.

Warm weather is melting deep snow in the mountains, flooding lowlands in Cache Valley, and creating heightened wet avalanche conditions in the backcountry.

recent activity

Natural wind slab and cornice fall avalanches occurred during the windy storm Monday and Tuesday. Small natural wet sluffs and extensive roller balls and pinwheels were observed across the zone in expected steep terrain during the last three days.
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
  • Warm temperatures will cause cornices to buckle and calve naturally. Large cornice falls are most likely during the heat of the day, but possible anytime.
  • Huge, overhanging cornices can break further back than expected and trigger avalanches on slopes below.
Avalanche Problem 2
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 24 hours
description

Warm temperatures and solar heating will create heightened wet avalanche conditions as snow softens on steep slopes. Triggered loose wet avalanches are possible during the heat of the day. Glide avalanches and large cornice falls are also possible. Watch for signs of wet instability like roller balls, pin-wheels and natural sluffs under trees or rock outcroppings. During warm weather, if snow is wet and sloppy, avoid being on or under steep slopes.

Avoid being under glide cracks like these on Wilderness Peak. In warm weather, you never know when a glide avalanche might occur.
weather

A mild west to northwest flow aloft will exist across Utah through the weekend. High pressure will develop for the first half of next week. Today will be mostly sunny, with a high temperature of 43 F at 8500', and 7 to 10 mph northwest wind veering from the south-southwest in the morning. There is a chance of a little snow tonight and skies will be mostly cloudy. West winds will blow 10 to 17 mph, and 8500' temperatures will drop to 29 F by 8:00 pm, then rise to 38 F for the remainder of the night. A little snow may fall tomorrow morning, and it will be partly sunny, with a high temperature of 41 F, and 21 mph west wind.
general announcements

Do you buy groceries at Smiths? When you register your Smith’s rewards card with their Community Rewards program, they will donate to the Utah Avalanche Center whenever you make a purchase. It's easy, only takes a minute, and doesn't cost you anything. Details here.

If you sign up for AmazonSmile and designate the Utah Avalanche Center as your favorite charity, they will donate a portion of everything you spend to the UAC. It doesn't cost you a penny and we'd really appreciate the help.

Your information can save lives. If you see anything we should know please help us out by submitting snow and avalanche observations. You can call us at 801-524-5304, email by clicking HERE, or include @utavy in your Instagram. In the Logan Area you can reach me at 435-757-7578

We will update this advisory regularly on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday mornings by about 7:30.

This advisory is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always exist.