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Forecast for the Logan Area Mountains

Toby Weed
Issued by Toby Weed on
Friday morning, February 21, 2020
Heightened avalanche conditions exist in the backcountry, and there are areas with MODERATE danger on upper and mid elevation slopes facing the eastern half of the compass. People could trigger shallow slab avalanches of previously wind drifted snow failing on a thin persistent weak layer. The snow is stable and avalanches are unlikely at lower elevations, on lower angled slopes, and in both windward and sheltered terrain.
  • Evaluate snow and terrain carefully.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
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Weather and Snow
It's 24°F at the 8400' Tony Grove Snotel, and there is is 90 inches of total snow, containing 123% of normal Snow Water Equivalent. Southwest winds are currently blowing around 23 mph at the CSI Logan Peak weather station, and it's 22°F this morning at 9700'.
Areas of heightened avalanche conditions still exist on previously drifted easterly facing upper and mid elevation slopes. Old stiff wind drifts may fail on a thin persistent weak layer above the widespread crust from 2/7. We are finding the best riding conditions in lower angled terrain.
A high pressure system will maintain dry and stable conditions through tonight. A developing storm system off the southern California coast will move east across the southern Great Basin this weekend. Widespread rain and snow will cover mainly southern and central Utah beginning Saturday afternoon and continuing through early Sunday morning.
In the Logan Zone, today will be sunny, with 8500' high temperatures around 33°F and 6 to 8 mph southwest winds. It will be mostly clear tonight with low temperatures around 15°F, and west- southwest winds around 11 mph. Tomorrow will be sunny with high temperatures near 36°F, and 6 to 10 mph southeast wind. A few inches of snow is likely to fall in the Logan Zone Sunday night.
Recent Avalanches
A skier intentionally triggered a small wind slab avalanche yesterday in the Mount Naomi Wilderness on a northeast facing slope at around 9300' on Cougar Peak. The avalanche was about 6" deep and 20' wide.
There were numerous human triggered avalanches and several close calls in the mountains of Northern Utah on Monday. A handful occurred in the Logan Zone including a couple in the backcountry of Beaver Mountain's Backside.
A very close call occurred Monday in the Ogden Area Backcountry near Snowbasin. A skier survived after being completely buried, with only a ski tip sticking out of the snow. The skier and his partner did not have any avalanche rescue gear. Our preliminary accident report is HERE.
Avalanche Problem #1
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
West winds were strong all day Sunday as heavy snow fell in the Central Bear River Range. The winds continued into Monday, gusting near 60 mph, and drifting lots of fresh snow into avalanche starting zones. Heightened avalanche conditions still exist today on previously drifted mid and upper elevation slopes, and human triggered avalanches failing on a thin persistent weak layer are possible. Cracking is a red flag, indicating unstable snow.
  • Watch for and avoid drifts near ridge lines and in and around terrain features like cliff bands, scoops, gully walls, and sub-ridges.
  • Avoid ridge top cornices, which can break much further back than expected and could start avalanches on slopes below.
Additional Information
Many slopes are quite slick and treacherous due to rain and rime events earlier in February. You could encounter slippery and dangerous "slide for life" conditions in steep terrain with hard snow surface or a shallowly buried thick crust. An ice ax and crampons may be needed for many of the steeper mountaineering routes.
General Announcements
Thanks to the generous support of our Utah ski resorts and Ski Utah, we have discount lift tickets available. All proceeds from these go towards paying for avalanche forecasting and education! Get your tickets HERE.
EMAIL ADVISORY. If you would like to get the daily advisory by email you subscribe HERE.
Remember your information can save lives. If you see anything we should know about, please help us out by submitting snow and avalanche observations....HERE. You can also call us at 801-524-5304, email by clicking HERE, or include #utavy in your tweet or Instagram.
This forecast is from the USDA Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. The forecast describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.
I will update this forecast before about 7:30 tomorrow morning.
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