It's 18°F at the 8400' Tony Grove Snotel this morning, and I'm reading 48 inches of total snow, with 116% of average SWE for the date. I'm unable to contact the CSI Logan Peak weather station, but it's 17°F on James Peak, and northwest winds are blowing 8 to 10 mph.
We found very nice, fast powder yesterday in Wood Camp.
A strong high pressure system will remain over the zone and bring mostly fair weather to the mountains and thickening haze to the valleys through the weekend. Expect mostly sunny conditions in the mountains today, with 8500' high temperatures around 21°F, and 8 mph west winds. It will be mostly cloudy tonight with low temperatures around 13°F, 9 to 13 mph west-southwest winds, and wind chills around 0°F. It will be mostly sunny on Friday, with high temperatures around 26°F, and southwest wind 9 to 11 mph. Powder conditions are fantastic, even in sunny and lower elevation terrain, but heightened avalanche conditions exist on drifted slopes, and dangerous and destructive avalanches failing on a persistent weak layer remain possible on some upper elevation slopes.
I'm sorry to report Utah's first avalanche fatality this season. On Sunday 12-15-19, a 45 year old male snowboarder was killed in a backcountry avalanche in Dutch Draw in the Wasatch Mountains above Park City.
Natural activity from Saturday became apparent with clearing Sunday. Fairly widespread new snow and wind slab avalanches occurred across the zone and and we could see several large hard slabs releasing on sugary faceted October snow on high north and northeast facing slopes. Generally 3 to 4' deep and a few hundred feet wide, including Miller Bowl, East (above Tony Grove Lake) which took down some trees and ran to the flats. Recent large natural avalanches were also observed in Wood Camp and on Providence Peak, Naomi Peak, and Cornice Ridge.
Natural avalanche in "the Nose" on Cornice Ridge.
A large natural avalanche in the Central Wood Camp Bowls. (12-17-19)
