Avalanche forecast

Ogden

Issued Mar 13, 2022valid to Mar 14, 2022Utah Avalanche Center

Avalanche danger

Alpine
Treeline
Below treeline

Out of date — this forecast expired 4 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Areas of CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger exist on steep west to north to east facing aspects of all elevations. These are dangerous, unmanageable avalanches 1-3' deep and a couple hundred feet wide. Know that you can trigger these from a distance. A MODERATE danger exists for shallow wind drifts and new snow instabilities at the mid and upper elevations.

Avalanche problems

Persistent Slabs
N
NE
E
SE
S
SW
W
NW
Alpine
Treeline
Below treeline
Likelihood
Likely
Size
2
Dangerous avalanches exist on many northwest to east facing slopes of all elevations. You can trigger 1-3' deep slides into weak faceted snow and you can trigger these from a distance or from below.

Travel Advice: Avoid being on or below steep slopes facing northwest to north to east on all elevations.

A few words of caution:

Signs of instability may not always be present: you may or may not see or experience shooting cracks or audible collapsing.

Tracks on the slope offer zero signs of stability. Avalanches will take out multiple existing tracks.

You can trigger these avalanches from a distance or below.
Wind Slabs
N
NE
E
SE
S
SW
W
NW
Alpine
Treeline
Below treeline
Likelihood
Possible
Size
2
Fresh wind drifts will be found primarily on steep northwest to north to east facing slopes today and may be surprisingly sensitive, failing on areas of surface hoar and new weaknesses along the surface of the recent storm snow.
Storm Slabs
N
NE
E
SE
S
SW
W
NW
Alpine
Treeline
Below treeline
Likelihood
Possible
Size
2
The new snow should bond poorly to the old snow surfaces, particularly on sheltered shady aspects. Sluffing may be expected with shallow soft slabs possible during periods of high snowfall.

Recent Activity

Observers near Monte Cristo noted new human triggered avalanches near Whiskey Hill. Photo below.

A snowmobiler triggered a large and dangerous avalanche above Farmington Canyon on Friday. (INFO). It was triggered from a distance and ripped out 2' deep and 300' wide on a northeast facing slope at 8000'.

On Thursday, a snowmobiler was caught but not buried in the mountains above Bountiful. The second rider on the slope was carried in the avalanche but not buried and not hurt. This slide occurred in the mountains just above the town of Bountiful. They were going one at a time and all had rescue gear. If the rider had been buried, they would have been able to find him very quickly.

The Ogden area mountains experienced a widespread avalanche cycle with the mid-week storm. See photos/obs. Conditions remain dangerous.

I have a short new blog post about accidents. It's called Deus Ex Machina.

Snow and Weather

We have warm temperatures and increasing clouds ahead of the next quick hitting storm system. Temps are in the upper 20s and low 30s. Winds backed to the southwest overnight and are blowing 30mph with gusts to 45 along the Ogden skyline. Anemometers off the main ridgelines have hourly averages of 20-25mph with gusts to 45. We may see 5-10" by early evening with temps dropping back to the low to mid-20s. Winds will veer to the west northwest post frontal and blow 20mph with gusts to 35. Clearing tomorrow with more snow Tuesday night into Wednesday.

Greg Gagne's Week in Review is published and can be found HERE.

Additional Info

FORECASTER'S CORNER: I know you're hungry. So am I. January and February were among the driest on record and now the powder is excellent. But here's the thing: the powder will also kill you in steep terrain. Trust me. Very experienced people have been surprised in recent days. The skiing and riding is still good on low angle terrain. Wait for a bit and let it settle out.

Blog on "Our Jan/Feb Drought Layer and PWL Summary of Avalanche Activity on This Layering for the Central Wasatch Range." HERE.

General Announcements

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.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE GENERAL INFO AND FAQ

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.

Observations and Avalanches

Backcountry Emergency Procedures