Avalanche forecast

Ogden

Issued Dec 22, 2021valid to Dec 23, 2021Utah Avalanche Center

Avalanche danger

Alpine
Treeline
Below treeline

Out of date — this forecast expired 5 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Areas of CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger exist on northwest through easterly facing slopes at the upper elevations in Ogden. Avalanches may break down 2' deep and propagate over a hundred feet wide. Cracking and collapsing are signs of instability. My advice is to stay on low-angle slopes with nothing steep above.

HEADS UP: With lots of wind & snow in the forecast, the avalanche danger will be on the rise starting Thursday and will continue to be dangerous through the holiday break. Please share the word with friends, family, and riding partners that conditions will continue to be dangerous and deadly here in Northern Utah, especially as the new snow stacks up. Be careful.

Avalanche problems

Persistent Slabs
N
NE
E
SE
S
SW
W
NW
Alpine
Treeline
Below treeline
Likelihood
Likely
Size
2
Dangerous avalanche conditions still exist on mid and upper elevation slopes facing northwestwest through north through east where storm snow, and wind-blown snow has overloaded weak, faceted snow in the bottom of the snowpack. While we haven't seen as many reports of the recent avalanche in the last day or two, backcountry travels continue to get large booming collapses, and as soon as we dig into the snow we find the poor snowpack structure. These are two big red flags, that let us know we need to continue to give this problem time.

The good news: Travel advice remains simple, If you want to ride terrain on the northerly (shady) side of the compass, you must choose slopes under 30° degrees in steepness with nothing steep above you.

Video of Forecaster Greg Gagne from a tour near Powder Mountain on Saturday, he experienced long shooting cracks and rolling thunder collapses. You can find his full report is HERE.

Recent Activity

No new avalanches were reported from the backcountry yesterday. Reports of large booming collapses and poor snowpack structure continue to be observed by backcountry travelers.

Snow and Weather

This morning, skies are partly cloudy, winds are light to moderate and temperatures are warm. Currently, the mountain temperatures hover in the mid 20's °F to low 30s °F at the mid and upper elevations. The southwesterly winds have bumped up in speed overnight, with speeds of 15-25 mph, with the highest gusts hitting 50 mph across the upper ridgelines.

Today will be the final calm before the storm, with partially cloudy skies, and even periods of sunshine poking through this afternoon. Mountain temperatures will climb into the upper 20s °F and mid-30s °F. The southwesterly winds will remain moderate, blowing at speeds of 10-20 mph with the occasional upper ridgeline gust up to 30-40 mph.

Tonight, cloud cover will increase overnight and light snowfall should begin sometime after midnight. Snow totals should remain relatively low over the next 24 hrs, and the brunt of the storm and the heaviest snow will occur Thursday evening through late Thursday night. The snow density will then become lighter Friday as colder air moves in. While the entirety of the storm still feels a way out, below are some graphics from the National Weather Service showing some probabilistic snow totals for the first wave of the storm (12/22-12/26). Still impressive numbers so far, let's keep our fingers crossed!

There is still plenty of good riding to be found in the backcountry. Southerly slopes have begun to crust over with the multiple days of sunshine, but any shaded terrain still holds soft cold snow. With these past few cold-clear nights, the surface snow in protected, non-solar facing terrain has begun to facet and weaken. While this makes for fine riding conditions today, as the next storm moves into the area, the new snow may bond poorly to the old snow in these areas or become another weak layer in the future.

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