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Forecast for the Logan Area Mountains

Toby Weed
Issued by Toby Weed on
Saturday morning, March 20, 2021
Elevated avalanche conditions and MODERATE danger exist in the backcountry today. With rain likely falling on the saturated snow at lower and mid elevations, and after a couple nights with temperatures well above freezing, loose wet and wet slab avalanches remain possible on steep slopes. A winter storm with periods of heavy snow and drifting from westerly winds will cause increasing danger on upper elevation slopes as fresh snow rapidly accumulates during the day, and people might trigger storm or soft wind slab avalanches in steep terrain this afternoon.
EVALUATE SNOW AND TERRAIN CAREFULLY
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
Learn how to read the forecast here
Special Announcements
Spring Awareness Campaign - Help us save lives through avalanche forecasts and education. Consider making a donation to show your support. HERE
Weather and Snow
Yesterday's heat melted lots more snow, especially at lower and mid elevations. It's pretty warm again this morning, 37°F at the 8400' Tony Grove Snotel, and there is 63 inches of total snow with 79% of normal SWE. It's 32°F and south winds are blowing 40 mph and gusting close to 70 mph at the 9700' CSI Logan Peak weather station. The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory, and we're expecting a winter storm to bring much cooler temperatures and a good deal of accumulating snow later today. Temperatures at 9000' are expected to drop to around 23°F by this evening, south winds should moderate as they veer around from the west and then northwest, and 6 to 10 inches of new snow is expected by this evening.
Areas with poor snow structure and dry weak sugary or faceted snow can still be found where the snowpack is thin, (around 3' deep or less), on the north side of the compass, on windward and mid-elevation slopes, slopes with grass and bushes showing, and in rocky, shallow terrain. Although unlikely, there is still a possibility that a person could trigger a dangerous avalanche on a very steep isolated slope in the Logan Zone. Wet slab avalanches remain possible today on very steep slopes with saturated snow and poor snow structure.
Recent Avalanches
  • Some natural loose wet avalanches occurred in steep terrain in the past couple days...
  • Four people were caught, carried over a cliff, and injured in a small wind slab avalanche on the east ridge of the Pfeifferhorn on Sunday in the Wasatch Mountains above Salt Lake City . details are HERE
  • -In the Logan Zone it's been over two weeks since any avalanches failing on our nasty deeply buried persistent weak layer occurred. See Twitter Post
  • -A few recent (or previously unreported) natural avalanches were observed on 3-17-21 in the Bloomington Canyon Area, west of Bear Lake. We are unsure about the timing of these as evidence of many other natural avalanches in the zone from our widespread February cycle is still quite apparent across the Logan Zone...
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Avalanche Problem #1
Wet Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Yesterday's heat was enough to cause the wet snow to become loose and unsupportable on sunny slopes with shallow snow cover. Temperatures stayed well above freezing at most local mountain weather stations overnight and the slushy snow did not refreeze solidly. Rain may fall on the snow this morning at lower (and perhaps mid) elevations and this will cause continuing elevated danger of loose wet and perhaps wet slab avalanches on very steep slopes.
Avoid travel on and under steep slopes with melt-softened and rain saturated snow.
Avalanche Problem #2
New Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Avalanches of storm snow will become possible for people to trigger today as new snow rapidly accumulates and is drifted on steep upper and mid elevation slopes. Loose avalanches or sluffs and soft slabs of drifted storm snow will become increasingly possible as new snow stacks up this afternoon, and small natural avalanches might occur during periods of particularly heavy snowfall.
Additional Information
As daytime temperatures rise, softening the snow, the danger of wet avalanches will increase, so its a good idea to get in the habit of an early start and to plan on heading down before things get too sloppy.
-Watch for trees or other terrain traps below you if you venture onto steep slopes.
-If you start sinking deeply into wet snow, or if the snow you are traveling on becomes unsupportable due to the heat, it's time to leave.
Do you have the essential avalanche rescue gear (transceiver, probe, and shovel) and do you know how to use them? Watch this video to see how the three pieces of equipment work together. HERE
Please keep practicing with the Beacon Training Park at the Franklin Basin Trailhead. Test yourself and your riding partners. It is free, fun, and easy to use.
General Announcements
Preston rider Allen Foss was killed in an avalanche on February 20 near Sherman Peak. Please consider supporting the Foss family during this difficult time. HERE
Visit this website with information about Responsible Winter Recreation by the Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation.
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 Instagram, or @UAClogan on Twitter.
We will update this forecast by around 7:30 tomorrow morning.
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.
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