Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Ogden Area Mountains Issued by Evelyn Lees for Monday - April 9, 2018 - 7:31am
bottom line

The avalanche danger is generally LOW, so use normal caution - look for and avoid any small wind drifts, and evaluate if there is wet snow beneath the hard ice crusts.

Unusual conditions: with hard, icy bed surfaces, slide for life's are possible, and even a very small sluff or wind drift at the upper elevations could knock you off your feet.




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current conditions

Skies are mostly clear, and temperatures have cooled nicely into the upper 20s at the mid, to near 30 at the lower elevations, and around 20 along the highest ridge lines. The northwesterly winds are decreasing, now averaging 10 to 15 mph at the mid elevations, and 15 to 25 mph on the highest peaks, with gusts to 30. Perhaps another inch of snow fell overnight, but it's still dust on crust in the Ogden area mountains, with only a few inches of snow falling after the rain ended on Saturday.

Be prepared for unusually hard “slide for life” conditions on the slick rain crusts..

Little Cottonwood - Evelyn Lees photo – icy patch work, 9,500’.
recent activity

No new avalanche activity reported from the Ogden area mountains, no new observations.
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

With very little snow falling after the rain stopped, avalanches are unlikely in the Ogden area moutains. But mountain travel always has risks. Slide for life conditions exist on the hard, icy slopes.

Wind slabs: there may be a few wind drifts along the highest ridge lines.

Wet slabs and glide avalanches probably occurred during the rain on Saturday. The issue and the weak layers are not gone, rather they are currently dormant with the colder temperatures and avalanching on these deeper weak layers is unlikely until the next warm up. If the frozen crust becomes punchy where you are, with wet snow beneath, it's time to move off steep slopes.
weather

It should be a stunning day, with clear skies and decreasing winds. Temperatures will warm to near 40°F at 8,000’ and into the 30s along the highest ridge lines. The northwesterly winds are forecast to drop into the 5 to 10 mph range at the mid elevations, and to around 25 mph at the highest elevation. Sunny skies and warmer temperatures on Tuesday, with a few snow showers possible Tuesday night. A more significant storm system is expected Thursday into Friday, with much colder temperatures and potentially heavy snowfall.
general announcements

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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.