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Forecast for the Logan Area Mountains

Toby Weed
Issued by Toby Weed on
Saturday morning, April 17, 2021
Heightened avalanche conditions and MODERATE danger exist in the backcountry. East winds formed stiff drifts in unusual or perhaps unexpected places in upper elevation terrain, and people could trigger shallow hard slab avalanches of wind drifted snow on very steep slopes. Watch for and avoid drifted snow in and around terrain features like sub-ridges, gullies, and cliff bands. Also, natural and human triggered wet loose avalanches entraining deep piles of moist surface snow are possible and could become likely later today in steep sunny terrain.
EVALUATE SNOW AND TERRAIN CAREFULLY
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
Learn how to read the forecast here
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Weather and Snow
It's snowing lightly this morning in the Bear River Range, and it is 21°F at the 8400' Tony Grove Snotel. About 18" of new snow accumulated this week, with 2" in the last 24 hours, and there is 53"of total snow containing 66% of normal SWE. Easterly winds are blowing 32 mph with gusts close to 50 mph at the CSI Logan Peak weather station, and it's a chilly 14°F with a -7°F wind chill value this morning at 9700'.
It will be sunny today, with high temperatures at 9000' around 38°F and continuing east winds. The sun will be out in full force this weekend, with another cold night tonight and daytime high temperatures climbing into the mid forties on Sunday.
All signs point towards springtime in Cache Valley, but it's still winter in the Bear River Range with over 18" of new snow since Tuesday night....
Recent Avalanches
No new avalanches were reported or observed recently in the Logan Zone.
People triggered a few soft slab avalanches of wind drifted snow in the past few days and yesterday in the Salt Lake and Ogden Area mountains. Visit our backcountry observations page for more info, HERE.
This soft slab avalanche of wind drifted fresh snow was intentionally triggered in Big Cottonwood Canyon in the Wasatch Range in the backcountry above Salt Lake City Thursday, 4-15-2021.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
East winds increased significantly overnight, building stiff drifts or hard wind slabs from this week's snow in unusual or unexpected places and in and around terrain features up high.
  • Avoid drifts on the lee side of major ridges and in and around terrain features like sub ridges, gullies, and cliff bands.
  • Like big mouse traps, hard wind slabs have a nasty way of allowing people to get out on them before releasing.
Avalanche Problem #2
Wet Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Wet loose avalanches or sluffs entraining this week's new snow will become likely today in steep terrain due to seasonal warmth. Solar warming from the high angled April sun will cause the fresh snow from the last few days to almost instantly become moist and sticky in the intense sunshine, and natural wet loose avalanches will become likely on very steep sunny slopes.
  • Wet loose avalanches are generally manageable, but can certainly be a problem because of terrain traps or if people find themselves below an avalanche.
  • Some wet loose avalanches this weekend could entrain large piles of cement-like debris containing all the recent snow, especially on long steep slopes.
Additional Information
General Spring Travel Advise:
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.
-Roller balls, pin-wheels, and natural wet avalanche activity are red flags indicating potential for people to trigger wet avalanches.
-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.
Fresh snow blankets upper elevation terrain in the Bear River Range, 4-15-2021...
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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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