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Forecast for the Logan Area Mountains

Toby Weed
Issued by Toby Weed on
Tuesday morning, December 3, 2019
Areas with CONSIDERABLE danger persist on drifted upper elevation slopes in the backcountry. Dangerous conditions exist in steep shady terrain, and you could trigger a 2 to 3 feet deep avalanche involving wind drifted snow and failing on a persistent weak layer of loose sugary snow near the ground. Avalanches could be triggered remotely, from a distance, or below! You can find much safer conditions and LOW danger at lower elevations and on sheltered slopes.
  • Evaluate snow and terrain carefully. Use caution while route finding, and make conservative decisions.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
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Special Announcements
The 16th Annual Logan Pray for Snow Party is coming up on Wednesday, December 4. Tickets are $30 and all proceeds to go support avalanche forecasting, education, and awareness in Logan.
Get your tickets before noon on Wednesday to save $5. HERE
Weather and Snow
It's 29°F at the 8400' Tony Grove Snotel this morning, and there is a few inches of new snow, with .6" SWE in the last 24 hrs. I'm reading 32 inches of total snow containing 6.6" SWE, which is 103% of normal for the date. It's 24°F at the 9700' CSI Logan Peak weather station, and northwest winds are blowing about 17 mph. Pockets of dangerous avalanche conditions exist on drifted upper elevation slopes facing northeast, north, and northwest, and human triggered avalanches up to about 3 feet deep remain likely. in places. You have to dig down into the snow and investigate. Avoid committing to slopes with loose sugary snow near the ground.
Several bonus inches of powder accumulated on upper elevation slopes on Monday, 12-2-19
Today will be mostly cloudy, with high temperatures at 8500' around 30°F, and 8 to 11 mph west-northwest winds. It'll be cloudy in the mountains tonight, with low temperatures around 12°F and 8 mph southwest winds. We'll see increasing clouds on Wednesday, with high temperatures around 30°F, and 6-9 mph southwest wind.
Recent Avalanches
  • A natural avalanche involving wind drifted snow was spotted by observers Sunday on the west side of Logan Peak in upper Logan Dry Canyon. The fresh avalanche was about 1 foot deep and 300 feet wide..
Avalanche Problem #1
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
After sustained strong south and west winds at upper elevations, avalanches consisting of stiffer wind drifted snow are possible today on many steep drifted slopes.
  • Continue to avoid steep, recently wind-drifted slopes.
  • Cracking and collapsing are red flags indicating unstable snow conditions.
  • Even small avalanches can be very dangerous in shallow snow conditions, because you could be dragged into rocks or stumps.
Avalanche Problem #2
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Most sunny slopes were bare and many others patchy or crusty after the prolonged November dry spell. But on slopes above about 8000' facing northwest, north, and northeast, the old October snow has grown sugary and very weak. Dangerous and destructive avalanches failing near the ground are possible, and the danger on many of these slopes will persist for a while.
Additional Information
Welcome to the First Annual Avalanche Awareness Week. We have 20 events scheduled for this week. Check out the schedule here and we hope to see you at an event. HERE
  • The USU Outdoor Program is offering a free Know Before You Go talk at 7:00, This Evening!
  • We are offering a free Avalanche Tune Up Talk at Northstars in Preston ID at 6:00 on December 5
Need a Christmas present for your favorite backcountry partner? Get one of these cool t-shirts to support the UAC and other avalanche centers across the U.S. HERE
General Announcements
The Tony Grove Road is not maintained for wheeled vehicles in the winter, and it is snowpacked, narrow, and icy in places. You could easily get stuck in deep snow, and it doesn't look like anyone was able to drive very far up recently. Hikers, cross country skiers, snow bikers, dogs, sleds, and 4x4s share the road this time of year, so be nice and keep your speed down around others.
It's key to head into the early avalanche season with the proper mindset. In this podcast, we talk with UAC program director Bo Torrey. Bo talks about particular risks unique to the early season, tips and tricks for knocking the rust off your early season rescue skills, and charts out the path forward with avalanche education. HERE
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