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Forecast for the Ogden Area Mountains

Mark Staples
Issued by Mark Staples on
Sunday morning, December 23, 2018
It remains possible to trigger a slab of wind drifted snow today. Look for signs of wind loading which are areas with smooth rounded or pillowly looking snow. These are typically found downwind of slopes where the wind has scoured or removed snow.
For today the avalanche danger is MODERATE at upper elevations and LOW at mid and low elevations.
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Weather and Snow
The storm that ended yesterday generally delivered 4-6 inches of snow (0.2-0.4 inches of water). The bigger issue was strong W and NW winds with this storm that were gusting yesterday morning 20-30 mph.
This morning mountain temperatures are mostly in the upper teens and low 20's F under mostly cloudy skies. Winds are blowing from the SW at 10-20 mph gusting to 25 mph.
Today temperatures should rise into the upper 20's F and winds will remain about the same as they are this morning. This afternoon a few snowflakes may fall but not accumulate. Tonight about 2-4 inches of snow should fall with maybe another inch or so falling tomorrow morning. The storm that was supposed to bring snow over Christmas should drop further south and only bring clouds to northern Utah followed by very cold temperatures.
Sunshine and previous warm weather Friday morning dampened the old snow surface at lower elevations and southerly aspects. These slopes now have a hard crust capped by yesterday's new snow.
Recent Avalanches
Yesterday there were many reports of easily triggered wind slabs in the Salt Lake area mountains. Ski areas in the Ogden area reported triggering small wind slabs as well but there were none reported from the backcountry.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Fresh slabs of wind drifted snow have likely bonded since yesterday but could still be triggered today. Winds shifted from a NW direction to a SW direction since yesterday and may have formed fresh wind slabs in new places. Pay special attention to any hard slabs of wind drifted snow. These can be surprising because they can let you get further onto them before the break. A skier experienced this on Reynolds Peak near SLC yesterday, when a hard wind slab broke deeper and wider than he expected.
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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