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

For the most part the avalanche danger is LOW this morning. It will rise to MODERATE as the day goes on. Natural avalanche activity is possible and some of these may pack a good punch. Stay off of and out from underneath steep avalanche terrain as the snow becomes damp and punchy. East aspects will become damp first then south then west as the sun swings around during the day. Watch all aspects at the lower elevations.


CURRENT CONDITIONS

Under mostly clear skies mountain temperatures are generally in the mid 20s with light to moderate speed west winds. There was a few inches of new snow sitting on top of a stout melt freeze crust on Saturday. The crust was supportable down to around 8000 feet and never really got too soft at the higher elevations. Things should stay fairly supportable for a while this morning before the warmer air temps soften things this afternoon.


RECENT ACTIVITY

Avalanche conditions were stable in the mid and upper elevations on Saturday. There were a handful of point releases involving only the new snow. There was one wet slab reported from Parleys Canyon that released near the ground at about 7000 feet. The time of the release is unknown.


THREAT #1

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 10 hours.

Wet slab avalanches will pose the greatest threat as temperatures rise during the day today. Weak underlying snow from earlier in the winter coupled with the spring warm up will hold our attention during any periods with warm temperatures, especially numerous days in a row. We've seen a hint of this over the last week. I'd expect to see more heat initiated avalanches breaking into older weak snow. Today's single day of warmer temperatures may not be enough to produce any widespread activity but you can't put it out of your head especially in the mid and lower elevations where the snow is already fairly wet under a thin refreeze.


THREAT #2

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

I'm still throwing in the reminder to watch for persistent weakness in the mid to upper elevation northerly aspects. This continues to be less and less of a problem but maybe not quite completely gone.


MOUNTAIN WEATHER

We'll see mostly clear skies today. Ridgetop temperatures will be in the mid to upper 30s. Winds will continue in the light to moderate range from a westerly direction and may increase just slightly. Another weak storm will move through late Monday into Tuesday without much accumulation expected.


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 (801620-1000/1017) 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.

Drew Hardesty 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.