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Forecast for the Logan Area Mountains

Paige Pagnucco
Issued by Paige Pagnucco on
Wednesday morning, March 23, 2022
Heightened avalanche conditions exist on northerly facing upper and mid-elevation slopes steeper than 30°. People could trigger slab avalanches, up to two feet deep and a couple hundred feet wide, failing on a buried persistent weak layer of faceted snow.
The high March sun and the current warming trend will cause a general increase in avalanche danger.
Loose wet and wet slab avalanches may be possible as temperatures increase.
*Evaluate snow and terrain carefully today.
Low
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Weather and Snow
Heightened avalanche conditions exist and there are areas with unstable snow mainly on northerly facing upper and mid-elevation slopes. Heavy snow in early March overloaded slopes with buried persistent weak layers consisting of sugary faceted snow, and additional accumulation and drifting over the weekend added weight and depth to an existing slab layer. Heightened avalanche conditions exist on northerly facing slopes with this poor snow structure, and people could trigger avalanches if they venture into this terrain today. Today's warmer temperatures will cause an increasing danger for wet avalanches.
The 8400' Tony Grove Snotel reports 27°F, and there is 71 inches of total snow at the site, containing 81% of normal SWE for the date. Northwest winds are blowing around 20 mph at the 9700' CSI Logan Peak weather station. Spring is here and we'll have fair weather and increasingly warm temperatures in the Logan Zone.
  • Today expect sunny conditions, with high temperatures at 8500' around 39°F, and 10 to 20 mph northwest winds.
  • It will be clear tonight, with low temperatures in the mid-20's F, and 11 to 14 mph northwest winds, switching from the west overnight.
  • It will be mostly sunny again tomorrow, with high temperatures around 44°F and 13 to 16 mph west winds.
  • Looks like fair spring weather with increasingly warm temperatures through the rest of the week. Mountain daytime temperatures are likely to soar well above 50°F by the weekend, the warmest temperatures yet in 2022.
Recent Avalanches
  • A rider in a party of 6 was side-hilling on a north-facing slope at around 8700' in Crescent Lake Canyon (Franklin Basin) when he triggered a 2' thick soft slab avalanche that failed on our widespread buried PWL. He was caught, carried around 150' and mostly buried, with only top of helmet and waving right arm out of the snow. He was quickly recovered by his companions, but his sled sustained some significant damage.
  • Two human-triggered avalanches that failed on the same widespread, buried persistent weak layer were reported Saturday from just north of the Idaho State Line. The avalanches were triggered unintentionally by the same party in the Franklin Basin Area on a north-northeast facing slope at around 9200' in elevation. Report is HERE.
  • A reported large avalanche was triggered by snowmobile riders on Friday, also on a north-northeast facing slope at around 9000,' in St. Charles Canyon, in the Snowslide Canyon Area, and we received a report of a similar, sled-triggered avalanche that occurred north of the Idaho State Line in the Egan Basin Area of Beaver Creek, also on Friday.
A rider was mostly buried and he and his bent and broken sled had to be excavated by companions in an avalanche accident Sunday in Crescent Lake Canyon, in the Franklin Basin area just south of the Idaho state line.
On Sunday, riders observed a large, soft slab avalanche on Midnight Mountain in SE Idaho. The avalanche occurred on a NE facing slope at 9300' and was two feet deep and approximately 175' wide.
Check out all the recent backcountry observations and many recent avalanche reports from across Utah HERE.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
On slopes facing the north half of the compass, in some areas, it is possible to trigger slab avalanches failing on a sugary, buried persistent weak layer. Although becoming less frequent, observers in the Logan Zone last week reported signs of instability in some areas, including audible collapsing and cracking. This week's warming temperatures could cause increasing instability on slopes plagued by this buried persistent weak layer. The warming will soften existing slabs and crust layers, and increase creep and glide rates, which could cause natural avalanches to become more possible and triggered avalanches more likely.
  • In some isolated areas, avalanches still might be triggered remotely or from a distance.
Very weak faceted snow is buried and preserved in many areas. Poor snow structure exists where a slab of harder snow sits above these buried layers of loose faceted snow, and in some areas, stability tests show unstable conditions. I found very weak facets at 7000' in Rattlesnake Canyon yesterday. Slopes that are normally popular springtime haunts are off-limits for now.
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Avalanche Problem #2
Wet Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Temperatures are starting to creep up and the high March sun will feel pretty toasty today. Watch for signs of warming-related instability like rollerballs. If you start sinking into the slushy snow it's time to change aspect or move to lower angle terrain. Areas like Woodcamp, that feel oven-y, will be the most suspect for this type of activity. Wet or damp snow is generally unstable.
The potential for wet slab activity will increase as well as the temperatures increase.
With warmer temperatures the rest of the week and poor overnight refreezing forecast, expect the danger for wet avalanches to increase.
Additional Information
  • Now is a great time to practice your avalanche rescue skills. Thanks to the generous support of Northstar, the Franklin Basin Beacon Training Park is up and running. The park is located directly west of the parking lot and is open for anyone to use. All you need is your beacon and probe. Please do not dig up the transmitters.
  • Always follow safe backcountry travel protocols. Go one person at a time in avalanche terrain, while the rest of your party watches from a safe area. (practice anytime while traveling on or under backcountry slopes steeper than 30°)
  • Check your avalanche rescue equipment, change your batteries, and practice often with your backcountry partners.
    Check slope angles, and to avoid avalanche terrain stay off of and out from under slopes steeper than 30° and adjacent slopes. Video Here
General Announcements
Special thank you to Polaris and Northstar...Video Here
Who's up for some free avalanche training? Get a refresher, become better prepared for an upcoming avalanche class, or just boost your skills. Go to https://learn.kbyg.org/ and scroll down to Step 2 for a series of interactive online avalanche courses produced by the UAC.
  • Check out all the upcoming education classes and clinics HERE.
  • Please submit your observations from the backcountry HERE.
This information does not apply to developed ski areas or highways where avalanche control is normally done. This forecast is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This forecast describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.
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