It did snow hard for a while yesterday morning above 1800 meters.
At 2240 meters the temperature was -2, winds were 50-75 KPH from the E. At 1650 meters the temperature was +1.5, 7 cm of new snow recorded there overnight. There is more fresh snow above 1800 meters. In the valley it was +2. Observations taken at 06:00.
For the forecast the warm front should slowly leave our zone by this evening. A cooler unstable air mass will be in our zone for Friday with more seasonable temperatures. A weak upper trough will dominate the weather pattern for Saturday followed by a weak high pressure system pushing in for Sunday and Monday. Models are uncertain but it looks like another system for Tuesday. The timing of these trends may vary as time progresses. After the dousing last night things will taper quickly, with light snow for the next couple of days. Hopefully enough to improve the skiing quality as the temperatures fall back to 800 meters by Saturday evening. Guesstimates: Thursday 2 to 4 cm, Friday 2-4 cm, Saturday 4-6 cm, Sunday 8-10 cm. It has been snowing in the alpine, there was a slight cooling trend last night but temperatures are rising again slightly. Minimum temperature -3 with winds 30-75 from the E to NE all night.
For the local updated avalanche advisory: Whistler Mountain Snow Safety
Throughout the corridor there have been avalanches from Size 1-2.5 naturals, skier released, and explosive released. With the precipitation last night the activity will increase as well as the size of the avalanches.
June Mountain Hosts 300 SAR Team members from California: Huge Practise
Information from the East Coast: Chic Chocs, Gaspe Peninsula
Quiet day in the avalanche world so here is some entertainment: Snow Butterfly
In the valley not so wintery looking.
At the end of the day the temperatures were slowly dropping and the snow was ramping back up.
Thanks to Darryl Brennan for these shots from the Brandywine Area March 3, 2013:
