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Forecast for the Ogden Area Mountains

Drew Hardesty
Issued by Drew Hardesty on
Sunday morning, November 29, 2020
Even with an overall LOW avalanche danger, avalanches can still be triggered on isolated terrain features today. Look for - and avoid - shallow wind drifts in the upper elevations. They may even crack out above you in steep terrain.
Wet pinwheels, rollerballs, and even loose sluffs can be expected today on the steepest sunlit slopes by midday.
REMEMBER that getting caught in even a small avalanche could have significant consequences with the risk of hitting a rock, stump, or downed timber.
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Special Announcements
Announcement: Please visit this website with information about Responsible Winter Recreation by the Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation.
If you missed the 13th Annual Utah Snow and Avalanche Workshop, the recordings are available for purchase from the UAC Store.
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Weather and Snow
Skies are clear. A weak system moved through overnight that dropped temperatures a few degrees and pushed the winds around the compass to the northeast. Ridgetop wind speeds are 10-15mph.
The Ogden mountains have roughly 12-18" on the ground with highly variable snow surface conditions: sun and wind crust with a settled trace to 2" of Thanksgiving storm snow on the shady aspects.
For today, we'll have sunny skies, moderate northwest wind, and mountain temperatures reaching into the upper 30s to low 40s.
Southwest to westerly winds pick up tomorrow ahead of a sharp cold front, due to arrive late Monday. Unfortunately it looks like we'll only see cooler temperatures and no precipitation.
Dr Brian Smith toured around Powder Mountain yesterday and found decent turning conditions on low angle slopes. He also found very weak snow - video below - with the old thermal crust just below the snow surface. Observation HERE>
Recent Avalanches
We did not hear of any avalanche activity in the Ogden area mountains, though collapsing and cracking of wind drifts were noted high in the Salt Lake area mountains on Friday.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Normal Caution
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
While the danger is generally LOW, continue to be aware of two things:
1 - Wind Drifts: Shallow pockets of wind drifted snow may still be found in isolated terrain features in the higher elevations. Thanksgiving's low density snow was drifted by the stronger east to northeast winds early Friday morning and isolated drifts may still be sensitive to human provocation.
Remember, cracking and collapsing are clear signs of instability.
2 - Wet Sluffs: With direct sun and daytime warming, shallow wet loose sluffs may be expected on the steepest southerly aspects by midday. Note when the snow becomes damp and unstable and then move to low angle terrain.
ANY involvement in an avalanche is likely to result in traumatic injury due to the thin, early season snow cover.
Additional Information
Weather Outlook: The longer range models do not look particularly good for storms through mid-December.
General Announcements
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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.
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