Ogden Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Brett Kobernik

BOTTOM LINE

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


Danger Rose Tutorial

The avalanche danger is at Level 3 (Considerable) in any wind exposed terrain especially along northerly facing upper elevation ridges. Dangerous avalanche conditions are present and human triggered avalanches are likely with natural avalanches possible. If you don’t have expert level snowpack and avalanche assessment skills we urge you to stick to slopes of 30 degrees in steepness or less.

CURRENT CONDITIONS

Temperatures cooled into the mid teens and upper single digits overnight. Winds slowed a bit but are still a bit gusty. They are generally from the south but quite variable from station to station. The Ogden area caught up with snow overnight where snowfall was 2" an hour for a period of 3 or 4 hours bringing totals up to 20 to 24 inches.

RECENT ACTIVITY

We haven't gathered much information from the Ogden area mostly due to lack of snow. There was lots of avalanche activity reported from the Cottonwoods and Park City Ridgeline.

THREAT #1
WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

The most dangerous avalanche problem today is the potential for a deep slab breaking into weak snow deeper in the snowpack. These layers are more pronounced in the thinner areas then I’d like to see and haven’t healed as much as I’d hoped they would. With possible heavy snowfall today, natural avalanching is possible. You’ll find that this problem is most pronounced in areas that had a thinner snowpack prior to this storm. Collapsing of the snowpack beneath you is cause for concern. You want to be diligent and dig down looking for weakness below the rime crust. Use Extended Column Tests to check for propagation in these layers. What makes this tricky is this problem isn’t present everywhere so don’t let your guard down if you’re not seeing it. While you may find more areas with new snow instability, this deeper slab problem is more dangerous in my opinion.

THREAT #2
WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

The new snow instabilities won’t be as sensitive today as yesterday but they still warrant caution. Always use ski cuts prior to diving into steeper slopes. Watch for cracking and perform numerous hand pits checking for shears within the new snow. Shovel Tilt Tests are also an excellent tool. Keep in mind that there may be instability in the transition zones where graupel pooled and could still be sensitive.

MOUNTAIN WEATHER

We’re expecting more snow today and it will be more pronounced north of I-80. Six inches or more is possible in the Ogden area. Ridgetop temperatures should be in the upper teens to low 20s. Ridgetop winds are still going to be a bit gusty from a west or southwest direction. Winds will increase Tuesday ahead of a well pronounced but short lived frontal passage Tuesday night which should produce another good shot of snow.

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Discount Lift tickets: Ski Utah, Backcountry.com, Alta, Deer Valley, Park City, The Canyons, Wolf Mountain, Snowbasin, Beaver Mountain, Brighton, Sundance, and Solitude have donated a limited number of tickets for sale 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 email to uac@utahavalanchecenter.org

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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.

We 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.