Ogden Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Drew Hardesty

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

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BOTTOM LINE

Danger by aspect and elevation on slopes approaching 35° or steeper.
(click HERE for tomorrow's danger rating)


Danger Rose Tutorial

The danger will rise to MODERATE with afternoon sun and warming. They'll have the potential to run far and entrain the storm snow in the steepest, most sustained south to west facing terrain. Keep an eye on the weather. Some dry sluffing can also be expected with human provocation.


CURRENT CONDITIONS

It’s a pretty even playing field with 2-4” scattered across the range. With the storm spiraling off to the east, temperatures have plummeted to a January-esque 9 degrees along the high ridgelines – though it’s more for effect – most stations are in the upper teens to low 20s. The westerly winds remain a bit breezy up high, blowing 15-20 gusting to 35. We’re primed for dust on crust conditions on all but the high north.


RECENT ACTIVITY

None to speak of.


THREAT #1

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 12 hours.

Too bad we don't have an icon for "Maybe". The threat rose assumes that the sun will come out this afternoon.

Whenever someone asks me if it’s gonna snow, I usually reply, “Well, that depends on the weather.” Same for avalanching. Toby Weed, our forecaster in the Logan office, made a great comment about how 4” usually isn’t much in winter, but in spring, you can see 4’ debris piles. Well put. This clearly being a function of terrain of course – but if we see some sun this afternoon, spontaneous wet point releases will be the rule and not the exception. Watch for rollerballs and pinwheels with the –as they say in the Pacific Northwest – “sunbreaks”…and they may entrain all the new snow as they barrel down the south to westerly facing steep, consistently long avalanche paths.


THREAT #3

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

Otherwise, I'd imagine the new snow bonded pretty well to the snow surfaces and any pockets of shallow wind slab will be relegated to the highest, most exposed easterly facing terrain. This and any sluffing will all be manageable hazards with effective ski and slope cuts and terrain management.


MOUNTAIN WEATHER

What we call "wrap around moisture" will continue to keep the flurries and cloud cover going through midday or so. (It refers to the counter clockwise flow around the center of the storm, due to pressure differences and the Coriolis Effect.) Temps will be in the mid to upper teens at 10,000' and the mid 20s at 8000'. Winds will be north to northeasterly at 15-20mph. We should have clearing skies for Wednesday into Thursday with another chance for snow early Friday.


GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

SLC: Please contact Alta Central (801-742-2033) if you trigger a large avalanche in the backcountry, especially if you are adjacent to a ski area, to alert them to the slide and whether anyone is missing or not. Rescue teams can be exposed to significant hazard when responding to avalanches, and do not want to do so when unneeded. Thanks.

Ogden: Please contact Snowbasin ski patrol (801-620-1000/1017) if you trigger a large avalanche in the backcountry, especially if you are adjacent to a ski area, to alert them to the slide and whether anyone is missing or not. Rescue teams can be exposed to significant hazard when responding to avalanches, and do not want to do so when unneeded. Thanks.

Provo: Please contact Sundance ski patrol (801-223-4150) if you trigger a large avalanche in the backcountry, especially if you are adjacent to a ski area, to alert them to the slide and whether anyone is missing or not. Rescue teams can be exposed to significant hazard when responding to avalanches, and do not want to do so when unneeded. Thanks.

Discount Lift tickets: Ski Utah, Backcountry.com and the local resorts donated lift tickets, with 100% of the proceeds going to the Utah Avalanche Center. To get the last few tickets left for Park City, Beaver Mountain, and Sundance – click here at discounted prices.

Wasatch Powderbird Guides flight plan.

Dawn Patrol Forecast Hotline, updated by 05:30:888-999-4019 option 8.

Daily observations are frequently posted by 10 pm each evening.

Free UAC iPhone app from Canyon Sports.

Subscribe to the daily avalanche advisory e-mail click HERE.

UDOT canyon closures UDOT at (801) 975-4838

We appreciate all your avalanche and snow observations. You can also call us at 801-524-5304 or 800-662-4140, or fill out the observation form on our home page.

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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.

Ev will update this forecast tomorrow morning. Thanks for calling.


This information does not apply to developed ski areas or highways where avalanche control is normally done.  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 occur.


This advisory provided by the USDA Forest Service, in partnership with:

The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center, Utah Division of State Parks and Recreation, Utah Division of Emergency Management, Salt Lake County, Salt Lake Unified Fire Authority and the friends of the La Sal Avalanche Center. See our Sponsors Page for a complete list.