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Forecast for the Logan Area Mountains

Toby Weed
Issued by Toby Weed on
Thursday morning, March 31, 2022
Heightened avalanche conditions and MODERATE danger exist on northerly facing slopes with poor snow structure. This morning, light rain is falling on the already saturated snow at lower and mid elevations, increasing the possibility of wet avalanche activity. If the high angled sun comes out from behind the clouds today, and as midday temperatures rise, people could trigger wet loose or perhaps wet slab avalanches on slopes steeper than 30°.
Evaluate snow and terrain carefully.
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The 2022 Spring Campaign wraps up Thursday (TODAY). We still need your support to help the UAC improve our avalanche forecasting services. Please make a donation today, HERE, and thank you to everyone who has supported our work this season.
Weather and Snow
Light rain is falling on the snow this morning at lower and mid elevations, which will saturate the already wet snow and weaken surface crusts that formed overnight. Very warm temperatures last week caused elevated conditions for wet avalanches at all elevations across the zone. Although mostly damp now, weak sugary faceted snow still exists on northerly facing slopes creating poor snow structure, and people could trigger serious avalanches. Wet loose and wet slab avalanches are possible, with wet slabs most possible in very steep terrain around or under cliff bands. The snow in the backcountry eariler in the week was sloppy wet and unsupportable in many places, and you post-hole into slushy snow if you get off your sled. Cooler temperatures last night created a supportable surface crust and helped to stabilize the snow, but the high angled sun could pop out this afternoon and seasonal daytime warmth will probably soften the saturated surface snow again today
Paige found very sloppy, unsupportable, wet snow in the Tony Grove Area earlier in the week.
The 8400' Tony Grove Snotel reports 31°F this morning, and there is 58 inches of total snow at the site, containing 71% of normal SWE for the date. West-northwest winds are blowing around 17 mph at the 9700' CSI Logan Peak weather station, where overnight temperatures dropped below freezing for the second night in a row, and it's 23°F this morning. Valley temperatures remained fairly mild overnight, and I'm reading 43°F in Logan City this morning.
  • It is raining this morning in the valley and at lower elevations. Snow showers are likely up higher, with 1 to 3 inches of accumulation possible this morning. It will be mostly cloudy, with high temperatures at 8500' around 36°F and 15 mph west-northwest winds.
  • Expect mostly clear skies tonight, low temperatures will be around 16°F and west-northwest winds will blow around 15 mph.
  • Tomorrow will be sunny, with a high temperature around 39°F and 10 to 15 mph west winds.
  • Seasonal weather with some cloudiness is expected this weekend, and nighttime mountain temperatures will drop below freezing, but it will be mostly sunny on Saturday, with high temperatures pushing 50°F.
Recent Avalanches
Last week's warmth softened existing slabs and crust layers, and increased creep and glide rates, which caused natural wet loose and wet slab avalanches to occur in steep terrain.
A fresh natural slab avalanche in Bird Canyon was visible from across Cache Valley Saturday afternoon.
  • Despite poor viewing conditions and flat light the last couple days, we could see numerous significant fresh wet avalanches in the Bear River and Wellsville Ranges from the weekend's exceptionally warm weather.
  • We observed several sizable fresh natural avalanches this weekend in the Wellsville Mountain Wilderness. Both wet loose and wet slab avalanches are still quite visible from across Cache Valley.
Some large natural wet avalanches occurred in Lower Logan Canyon, during last weekend's warm spell. (Drop in-Drop out west)
Check out all the recent backcountry observations and many recent avalanche reports from across Utah HERE.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Wet Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Light rain is falling on the snow at mid and lower elevations, saturating and weakening surface crusts on the already wet snow surface. As daytime temperatures rise and especially if the high angled sun comes out from behind the clouds this afternoon, it is possible people could trigger serious wet slab avalanches on slopes facing the north half of the compass, failing on a moist buried persistent weak layer.
This large natural wet slab avalanche in the "Picture Window" area of Pine Canyon appears to have occurred on Sunday morning, since we did not see it with the glass on Saturday afternoon.
Cooler temperatures overnight created a supportable surface crust and helped to stabilize the sloppy wet snow. But, the high angled sun could pop out from behind the clouds and seasonally warm daytime temperatures will soften saturated surface snow again, and wet loose avalanches are possible in the backcountry again today. When the snow surface becomes damp or unsupportable, it's time to head home. Wet slushy snow is generally unstable on steep slopes.
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.
  • 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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