Nowcast- Dang... those winds! Yeah, 72 hours worth of northerly winds have absolutely torched our big, open bowls and penetrated mid elevation terrain as well. Blowing in the mid 30's, gusting to 70 mph and generally out of the north, with a little west and south thrown in to keep us honest... they've blasted the ridges. With clear skies overnight, temperatures cratered into negative territory. Windchill clocking in at -30 degrees is a real thing near the high peaks. If you've gotten your chores done and are looking for a quick rip, steer your snow vehicle towards wind sheltered, mid and low elevation terrain and you'll be met with a go-anywhere base and swaths of soft, creamy topper for your riding pleasure.   Forecast- Expect mostly sunny skies with temperatures climbing into the upper teens and low 20's. Buzz-killing west and northwest winds blow in the 40's near the high peaks.   Futurecast- Increasing clouds on Friday opens the door to a weekend storm, but a lot of uncertainty remains with this system including its track, timing, and potential for accumulating snow... stay tuned.   Ted was in the Whitney Basin environs yesterday and got eyes on Double Hill, noting... "Yesterday's strong winds worked a lot of the exposed terrain, but there is some nice dense settled snow in sheltered areas that did not get the wind. Some of the south facing slopes developed a heat crust from the warmer temperatures yesterday."

Skies are clear.   Temperatures are in the single digits.  Winds are 15-20mph from the northwest. For today, we'll have sunny skies, light to moderate winds from the northwest and temps slowly warming into the upper teens to low 20s.   They say that there are hundreds of words that describe snow, but after the recent bout of strong winds, I'd say that there are only a few left suitable for polite audiences.   The Outlook:  A storm out of the northwest splits, with a cut-off Low pressure system retrograding back to the southwest.  Beyond that, who among us can forecast a wobbly cut-off Low?   If forced to guess, I'd say we might pick up a couple measly inches of new snow over the weekend with perhaps the Park City mountains and the Wasatch back receiving the lion's share.  

Wicked winds from the west changed the game in the backcountry this week, wrecking the nice powder in exposed terrain and elevating avalanche conditions.  The tempest found plenty of light snow from the weekend to pick up in the flats and on windward slopes or fetch areas. Then, as it decelerated, it deposited the snow in stiff drifts on lee slopes and in and around terrain features.  Despite the widespread wind-jacked snow, we've found nice recrystallized powder in sheltered terrain and pockets of softer snow in open areas where the snow surface is rough-looking, scalloped, or dimpled like an orange peel.     -The Tony Grove Snotel at 8400 feet reports 9° F, with 57 inches of total snow. -At the Card Canyon weather station at 8800 feet, it's 5° F and there is 44 inches of total snow. -At the CSI Logan Peak weather station at 9700 feet, winds are blowing from the northwest 20 to 25 mph, and it's 4° F, with a windchill of -17° F.  -On Paris Peak at 9500 feet, it is 3° F, the winds are blowing from the north-northwest 19 to 26 mph, and the windchill is -18° F.  NWS Point Fx for the Naomi Peak Area: Today: Sunny, with a high near 19. Wind chill values as low as -9. West wind 6 to 10 mph. Tonight: Increasing clouds, with a low around 9. Wind chill values as low as -5. West wind 9 to 11 mph. Friday: A 40 percent chance of snow, mainly after 8am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 22. Wind chill values as low as 2. West southwest wind 11 to 14 mph. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible. Another 1 to 2 inches of accumulation is possible on Saturday, it will be mostly cloudy with a high temperature of around 19° F, and fairly strong east winds are expected.  Clear, cold, and dry weather is expected through at least the first part of next week... For more information, visit the UAC weather page here: Weather - Utah Avalanche Center For Logan-specific weather, go here: Logan Mountain Weather - Utah Avalanche Center

Skies are clear.   Temperatures straddle 0°F.  Winds are 10-15mph from the north and nearly double that along the 11,000' level.   For today, we'll have sunny skies, light to moderate winds from the northwest and temps slowly warming into the upper teens.   They say that there are hundreds of words that describe snow, but after the recent bout of strong winds, I'd say that there are only a few left suitable for polite audiences.   The Outlook:  A storm out of the northwest splits, with a cut-off Low pressure system retrograding back to the southwest.  Beyond that, who among us can forecast a wobbly cut-off Low?   If forced to guess, I'd say we might pick up a couple measly inches of new snow over the weekend with perhaps the Park City mountains and the Wasatch back receiving the lion's share.  

Current Conditions:  Moderate to strong northwest wind continued Wednesday and finally has slowed.  It's still a little breezy along the highest peaks but it's much calmer down off exposed terrain.  Temperatures were frigid again overnight with lows in the single digits to around zero.  Numerous days of wind has been hard on the riding conditions. Mountain Weather:  We'll see mostly clear skies with light northwest wind today.  Temperatures should get up around 20˚F.  A few clouds move in Friday with warmer temperatures.  Overall, the future weather pattern looks like junk for snowfall.  A low pressure system will form along the coast of California Saturday and slowly drift south then east through Arizona.  This does very little for us as far as any significant snow.

6 A.M. Snow and Weather Data   24 Hour Snow: 0" 72 Hour Snow: 0" Season Total Snow: 63" Depth at Gold Basin: 30" Winds on Pre-Laurel Peak: N 15-20 G 30 Temp: 3° F Percent of Normal (SWE): 79%   Weather   After a several hour run in the 40-45 mph range yesterday morning, moderate to strong northwest winds have shifted to more northerly and have decreased a bit this morning. They'll continue to decrease today but temperatures will remain cold at around 15°F for a high at 10,000'. Tomorrow should be sunny and significantly warmer. Clouds move in Friday night ahead of a weak storm system that could bring us a chance for a few inches of much needed snow.    General Conditions   Our wind battered snowpack continues to take a beating and most surfaces are tired, textured, crusted, or hard. You might still be able to find some soft snow out there that was slightly enhanced by the 3 inches that fell over the weekend. Sheltered, northerly facing terrain below treeline will be the go to areas.    Shallow, stiff slabs of wind drifted snow are the primary avalanche problem, but we still have some concern over the weak layer that was buried on 12/25. This layer remains sensitive anywhere there is a cohesive slab on top. We have found this layer to be the most reactive on northerly aspects near treeline. Skiers and riders must continue to look for this potentially unstable slab/weak layer combination if you are getting into steep terrain.    Snowpack and Weather Data   Snowpack Observations Gold Basin Storm Stake (10,000') Gold Basin SNOTEL site (10,000') SNOTEL site near Geyser Pass Winter Trailhead (9600') Wind Station on Pre-Laurel Peak (11,400') NWS forecast for the La Sal Mountains.