The avalanche danger is LOW today. Avalanches are unlikely this morning, but the new snow will probably become damp in sunny terrain during the day, and small wet avalanches are possible.
Use normal caution.
Solar warmth will cause the surface snow to become damp, prone to producing loose, wet avalanches that entrain the new snow. On sustained slopes, these could produce good-sized piles of heavy cement-like debris.
Check out McKinley Talty's new blog post, "Do We Let Our Guard Down in the Spring?" about springtime mindsets and avalanche incidents... HERE.
Yesterday, we observed periods of very heavy snowfall as well as clearing and warm sun. Sometimes, both were happening at the same time.
No avalanches were reported yesterday, but with a brief clearing in the afternoon we observed a few natural sluffs (loose avalanches) of new snow in very steep terrain off Mt Gog in the Central Bear River Range.
Check out all local observations and avalanches HERE.
Yesterday, we found nice shallow powder in upper-elevation terrain and dust-on-crust elsewhere. Today, you'll find the best conditions in upper-elevation, sheltered terrain on lower-angle slopes where you won't bump into the old surface crust. This morning's powder will soon become damp in sunny terrain, but it should stay pretty good on northerly-facing slopes.
The Tony Grove Lake Snotel at 8400' reports 8 inches from the weekend storm. It's 18°F this morning, and there is 104 inches of total snow at the site, which contains 119% of normal snow water equivalent.
At the 9700' CSI Logan Peak weather station, winds are blowing from the northwest at 13 mph with gusts in the 20's mph and it is 14°F.
At our new Paris Peak weather station at 9500', it's 14°F, and the wind is blowing from the northwest at 7 mph with gusts in the teens.
It's 15°F at our new Card Canyon weather station at 8800', and there is about 4 inches of new snow and 88 inches of total snow.
Expect clearing this morning and mostly sunny skies (except during the eclipse) in the mountains today. High temperatures should reach around 30° F at 8500', and the wind will blow from the north-northwest 6 to 11 mph along the ridges.
High pressure builds in for the work week ahead, bringing fair weather to the mountains with increasingly warm daytime temperatures.
If you would like more information, you can visit our mountain weather page HERE.
-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.
-Come practice companion rescue at the Franklin Basin TH Beacon Training Park. It's free and open to everyone. For easy user instructions, go HERE.
-We will issue regular daily updates of our forecast through April 14.
-We will update this forecast tomorrow by 7:30 AM. 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.
