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Forecast for the Ogden Area Mountains

Mark Staples
Issued by Mark Staples on
Saturday morning, April 13, 2019
The main avalanche problem today will be wet snow avalanches as strong sunshine heats up new snow from this week making the avalanche danger MODERATE on all low elevation slopes and and all mid and upper elevation slopes that face east, south and west.
Better stability and better riding conditions will be found on mid and upper elevation, northerly aspects where dry snow should remain through the day and the danger is LOW. A small chance remains for dry snow avalanches that will be mostly on slopes with wind drifted snow.
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High
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Special Announcements
Daily early morning avalanche forecasts will end tomorrow, Sunday, April 14. We will issue early morning forecasts on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of Easter weekend (April 19-21). Throughout the rest of April, we will issue intermittent updates with any snowfall or other significant weather events, and we will continue posting observations.
Powder Mountain ski operations have ended for the season, and the resort welcomes responsible uphill traffic on its property. Thanks!
Drew Hardesty just penned another wonderful blog piece, Meditations on Skiing the No-Fall Zone.
Our final podcast for the season has been released HERE. Low Danger - A Story in 5 Parts. Thanks much to our producer Benjamin Bombard and our sponsors Arva, Prival, and 2nd Tracks Sports.
Weather and Snow
Yesterday: Cloudy skies and snow showers kept things from heating up too much. Across most elevations high temperatures were in the mid to low 30s F. Winds were light. A few inches of snow accumlated during the day.
This morning: Mostly clear skies allowed temperatures to drop into the upper 20s to low 20s F. Westerly winds this morning are averaging 5-10 mph with 16-18 mph gusts at the highest elevations.
Today: Clouds should dissipate this morning and there should be more and more sunshine appearing through the day. Temperatures should warm more than yesterday and easily climb into the mid 40s F depending on elevation. A brief ridge of high pressure will build today, but a series of storms is headed our way starting tomorrow with strong southwest winds.
Yesterday's snowfall, especially from some intense squalls near Snowbasin, greatly improved the riding. However, in other places there remains some wet spongy snow underneath the new snow that hopefully refroze last night.
Recent Avalanches
Ski patrols reported a few sluffs that stepped down into layer of new snow and caused shallow soft slab avalanches. No wet avalanche activity occurred yesterday.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Wet Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Skies should clear today and allow strong sunshine to quickly warm the new snow. As this happens wet loose avalanches should occur. The best strategy will be to move to slopes at mid and upper elevations facing northerly where better riding conditions will be found as well.
Wet slab avalanches are also possible as the new snow heats up. These are difficult to predict, and I'm not really sure if wet slabs will happen or not. I do know that the new snow will be warming quickly, and I'd stay on northerly aspects with dry snow today.
Avalanche Problem #2
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
The new snow that fell this week is generally well bonded and stable. I think today any remaining instabilities in the new snow will be in isolated spots with wind drifted snow.
Additional Information
Spring is here and it is time to adjust our travel. Learn what to watch for during spring avalanche conditions when the snow becomes wet.
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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