The backcountry avalanche danger is level 3 (or CONSIDERABLE,) and dangerous avalanche conditions exist, especially on drifted slopes at upper elevations. Some natural avalanches are possible and triggered avalanches are likely on slopes steeper than about 30 degrees. In some upper elevation areas, continued heavy snowfall and strong west winds today could easily cause the danger to rise to level 4 (or HIGH,) and you should avoid obvious or historic avalanche paths and steep drifted slopes. Careful snowpack evaluation, cautious route finding and conservative decision making will be essential in the backcountry today....

The Bear River Range boasts impressive two-day storm totals of around 3' of snow containing about 3" of water since Saturday morning. The Tony Grove Snotel at 8400' reports another foot of new snow containing 1" of water from yesterday and overnight. There's now 49 inches of total snow on the ground containing over 8 inches of water equivalent, and the station is currently sitting at 167% of average for the date...

I'm reading moderate southwest winds at the moment on Logan Peak, and a chilly 9 degrees at 9700'.

The Tony Grove Road is not maintained for wheeled vehicles in the winter. Expect patches of ice, deepening snow, and deteriorating driving conditions. The storm upon us will most likely spell the end of driving to the lake for the season, as the upper section will probably become impassable..... In fact, numerous 4x4s got stuck on the road yesterday, and nobody was able to drive all the way up to the lake....

Numerous triggered and a few natural avalanches were reported in the Central Wasatch Range yesterday. These were failing on weaknesses within the new snow as well as on buried persistent weak layers....see list

Locally yesterday, I easily and intentionally triggered a shallow (<6"deep) soft slab in far east Miller Bowl, south of Tony Grove Lake with a ski cut. The small (40' wide) new snow avalanche ran a ways through trees below and triggered a similar sized sympathetic release under the East Miller Chute.

The National Weather Service has continued a Winter Storm Warning for our region through Wednesday morning. Another foot of accumulation is possible at higher elevations today, and more snow will likely also accumulate in the valleys as temperatures continue drop. The coldest and strongest wave in this sustained winter storm will bring dangerous blizzard conditions to the mountains and valleys late tomorrow..... Snowfall will taper off on Wednesday, but snow showers will likely linger into a chilly Thanksgiving Day.

The next round of storminess arrives next weekend.....

Don't miss our annual Pray for Snow party and fundraiser, Wednesday December 1st at the Italian Place.

Send us your avalanche and snow observations. You can also call me at 435-757-7578, or email to uac@utahavalanchecenter.org

Donate to your favorite non-profit – The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center. The UAC depends on contributions from users like you to support our work.

This advisory is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.