Logan

The avalanche danger is LOW. Normal caution is advised.

Your biggest hazard remains tagging shallowly buried stumps, rocks, and downed trees.

That's a wrap for Avalanche Awareness Week! Thanks to everyone who attended one of our talks, clinics, classes, or parties.

No significant avalanches have been reported recently.

You can read all observations here.

We need more snow. What snow hasn't been packed out by riders is melting out in sunny terrain or turning into a sandbox in shaded terrain. Your greatest hazard today continues to be hitting rocks, downed trees, and stumps. You can still find pockets of cold, dry snow in sheltered, shaded terrain, but you'll have to work for it. An observer's pit profile from yesterday sums it up pretty well:

The 8500' Tony Grove Snotel reports 29°F and 17 inches of total snow on the ground. It's 30°F at the 8800' UAC Card Canyon weather station, with 20 inches of total snow.

The wind speed increased overnight, with current speeds near 30 mph and a gust of 60 mph. Currently, at 9700' at the CSI Logan Peak weather station, it's 21°F, and the wind is blowing from the west-northwest. At 9500' on the UAC Paris Peak it's 20°F, and winds are from the west-northwest, blowing 28 to 38 mph.

Expect cooler temperatures today with a high of 27°F at 8500 feet, gusty winds blowing from the west-northwest, and a few snowflakes here and there as a cold but mostly dry trough moves through the area. Cooler temperatures and a chance for snow(flakes) remain through Monday, with a return to high pressure by Tuesday. Our next chance for weather is Thursday, but uncertainty remains among the models about whether we'll get a ridge (strengthening inversion and no snow) or a trough (potential for mixing out of inversion and mountain snowfall). I know my vote.

For more information, visit the UAC weather page here: Weather - Utah Avalanche Center

For Logan-specific weather, go here: Logan Mountain Weather - Utah Avalanche Center

We took advantage of yesterday's nice weather to install new instruments at the Card Canyon weather station. Thanks to Nate Z. and Devon for helping with transport and Travis M. and Chad B. for the installation.

In this archived video, Trent explains the problem of weak, faceted snow development that occurs during high-pressure systems when shallow snow is subjected to cold temperatures this time of year. This is exactly the situation we find ourselves in the Logan Zone today. We'll have to monitor and map the widespread weak snow when storms inevitably start to roll in.

I found nice surface hoar crystals on Friday in lower Mill Hollow.

-National Forest Winter Recreation Travel Maps show where it's open to ride: UWCNF Logan, Ogden LRD Tony Grove, Franklin Basin CTNF Montpelier

-Sign up for forecast region-specific text message alerts. You will receive messages about changing avalanche conditions, watches, and warnings...HERE.

-For all questions on forecasts, education, Know Before You Go, events, online purchases, or fundraising, call 801-365-5522.

-To report an avalanche or submit an observation from the backcountry, go HERE.

-Remember that the Tony Grove Road is not maintained for winter driving. Treacherous snow-covered and icy conditions will be encountered.

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.