Avalanche forecast

Logan

Utah Avalanche Center
View on map

Avalanche danger

  • Alpine
  • Treeline
  • Below treeline
Open full map
Out of date — this forecast expired 4 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Areas with CONSIDERABLE danger exist at upper and mid elevations on slopes facing northwest through east. People could trigger dangerous slab avalanches, up to two feet deep and a couple hundred feet wide, failing on a buried persistent weak layer of faceted snow. Avalanches could be triggered remotely or from a distance. Shallow human triggered avalanches of wind drifted snow are also possible on drifted upper elevation slopes steeper than 30°, and seasonal warmth will cause potential for loose wet avalanches of saturated surface snow in steep terrain. *Careful snowpack evaluation, cautious route-finding, and conservative decision making are essential for backcountry travel.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    2

    Southwest winds were fairly strong Monday night and yesterday, and there was plenty of nice powder at upper elevations to drift about. Gusty northwest winds will continue at upper elevations today and tonight. Drifting is overloading slopes with buried persistent weak layers and increasing the depth and weight of a developing slab layer. Soft slab avalanches of wind drifted snow are possible anywhere drifts formed on steep slopes, but most likely today at upper elevations on northwest through southeast facing slopes.

    • Avoid fresh drifts on the lee side of major ridges and in and around terrain features like below cliff bands, gully walls, scoops, and sub-ridges.

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1

    Rain and wet snow saturated the surface snow at lower and mid elevations yesterday, and seasonal daytime warmth will keep it soft and prone to sluffing today.

    On sustained slopes, loose wet avalanches could pile up deeply, especially in terrain traps like gullies, sinks, and benches.

    *Manage loose avalanches by staying off and out from under steep slopes with saturated surface snow, avoiding constricting terrain, like drainage gullies, and moving out of the fall line so you don't get caught by your own sluff. Avoid being caught and pulled into terrain traps below you like trees, gullies, sinks, or benches.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    2

    Last week's heavy snow created a cohesive and harder slab on widespread preexisting layers of very weak faceted snow. In many areas the overload of heavy new snow was just enough to activate these layers and cause dangerous slab avalanches. More snow fell and drifting occurred in the last few days, which continued to load slopes with poor snow structure. On slopes facing the north half of the compass, people are likely to trigger soft slab avalanches failing on a buried persistent weak layer. Persistent weak layers consisting of faceted snow sandwiched between crusts exist in some more sunny terrain, and some may be become active as they are overloaded by drifted snow and warm temperatures soften the crusts. Observers in the Logan Zone continue to report signs of instability across the zone, including audible collapsing and cracking.

    • Avalanches could be triggered remotely or from a distance.
    • Shooting cracks and audible collapsing are red flags indicating unstable snow.

    An observer triggered these deep shooting cracks yesterday at around 9000' on a northeast facing slope in the Central Bear River Range.

Special Announcement

Thanks to the generous support of our local resorts and Ski Utah, discount lift tickets are now available. Support the UAC while you ski at the resorts this season. Tickets are available HERE.

Recent Activity

  • Saturday, skiers triggered a couple sizable soft slab avalanches on the Millville Face in Providence Canyon. The avalanches at around 8600' in elevation on a north facing slope failed on a sugary persistent weak layer. The largest was 12 to 20" deep and around 300' wide.
  • Friday afternoon, a skier was caught and carried around 200' by an avalanche on a southeast facing slope at around 8000' in Rattlesnake Canyon in the Wellsville Mountain Wilderness

The skier who triggered this avalanche yesterday was going so fast they did not even know they had triggered the avalanche until down on the flats at the pick up zone.

A skier deployed his airbag when caught and carried around 200' late Friday afternoon by this avalanche in upper Rattlesnake Canyon in the Wellsville Mountain Wilderness.

Check out all the recent backcountry observations and many recent avalanche reports from across Utah HERE

Snow and Weather

A few inches of heavy snow accumulated on upper elevation slopes, while a bit of rain down lower continued to melt out lower elevation terrain. Areas of unstable snow and dangerous avalanche conditions exist in the backcountry, mainly on northerly facing upper and mid elevation slopes. Last week, heavy snow overloaded slopes with buried persistent weak layers consisting of sugary faceted snow, and additional accumulation and drifting in the past few days added weight and depth to a developing slab layer. Dangerous avalanche conditions exist on upper and mid elevation slopes with this developing poor snow structure, and people could trigger dangerous avalanches today.

The 8400' Tony Grove Snotel reports 30°F, and here is 75 inches of total snow at the site, containing 84% of normal SWE for the date. Winds decreased overnight, veering from the northwest and are blowing about 17 mph this morning at the 9700' CSI Logan Peak weather station.

  • Expect mostly cloudy skies, with steady temperatures at 8500' holding around 28°F, and breezy northwest winds, with gusts around 30 mph.
  • Expect partly cloudy skies tonight, with low temperatures around 16°F, and continuing gusty northwest winds.
  • Mostly sunny skies are expected tomorrow, with high temperatures around 35°F, and light north-northwest winds.
  • Unsettled spring weather is expected to continue through the week, with some clouds and increadsingly warm daytime temperatures. Our next chance for snow comes on Sunday.

Additional Info

  • Now is a great time to practice your avalanche rescue skills. Thanks to the generous support of Northstar, the Franklin Basin Beacon Training Park is up and running. The park is located directly west of the parking lot and is open for anyone to use. All you need is your beacon and probe. Please do not dig up the transmitters.
  • Always follow safe backcountry travel protocols. Go one person at a time in avalanche terrain, while the rest of your party watches from a safe area. (practice anytime while traveling on or under backcountry slopes steeper than 30°)
  • Check your avalanche rescue equipment, change your batteries, and practice often with your backcountry partners. Check slope angles, and to avoid avalanche terrain stay off of and out from under slopes steeper than 30° and adjacent slopes. Video Here

General Announcements

Special thank you to Polaris and Northstar...Video Here

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.

  • Check out all the upcoming education classes and clinics HERE.
  • Please submit your observations from the backcountry HERE.

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.

Regions covered