We're no longer issuing danger ratings this spring, but that doesn't mean avalanches won't happen. There is still plenty of snow in the backcountry and avalanches will occur on steep snow covered slopes, even if there is nobody around to see them happen.
Get an early start and head home early. Reevaluate your route if you start sinking into soft wet snow.
Avoid being on or under steep slopes with melt-softened saturated snow, and stay out of runout gullies.
Stay off and out from under large ridge top cornices, which are likely to break further back than expected, and could trigger avalanches on steep slopes below.
Thank you to everyone! The Utah Avalanche Center could not exist without your support.
We can see numerous recent natural wet loose avalanches from Cache Valley today after the rainy and increasingly warm weather last week. Widespread natural loose avalanches entraining wet new snow were observed across the Logan Zone on many steep slopes at upper and mid elevations, and some were pretty long running. Skiers report triggering sizable wet loose avalanches on the north side of Logan Peak on Thursday and in Bird Canyon in the Wellsville Mountain Wilderness Friday.
A skier triggered wet loose avalanche in Bird Canyon occurred at around 10:30 Friday morning.
Natural wet avalanches from cornice falls occurred during the heat of the day in the backcountry cirques above Snowbasin.
The heat is causing large ridge top cornices to buckle and sag, and large pieces to calve off creating wet avalanches on slopes below.
Numerous fairly large natural wet loose and a few wet slab avalanches occurred in the first half of April across the Logan Zone.
The Tony Grove Snotel at 8400' reports 81 inches of total snow, and it's 32ºF this morning. Its 26ºF at the 9700' CSI Logan Peak weather station, and east-northeast winds are currently averaging around 10 mph.
A low pressure system over southwest Utah will drift south into Arizona later today. High pressure aloft will build in behind the exiting low pressure beginning tonight. This high pressure will remain across the Great Basin through the middle of the week.
Snow showers are possible this morning and it will be mostly cloudy today in the mountains again, with high temperatures at 9000' expected to be around 43ºF and 8 to 11 mph northeast wind. It will be clear tonight, with low temperatures around 30ºF, and 8 to 11 mph northwest winds. Expect sunny conditions tomarrow with high temperatures around 50ºF and 10 to 14 mph northeast wind.
We will continue to post intermittent and weekend updates through April and your backcountry observations all spring, so please keep em comming.
Here is a short video from our staff about Spring Snow Conditions...
Here is my take on Spring Snow in the Logan Zone...
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This forecast is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. The forecast describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.
