March 8, 2014

    First ride up in the morning, thick mid mountain cloud. Friday

    Good visibility once above the cloud layer yesterday morning.

    Became thick and grey by the end of the ski day.

    Snow sculpture taking shape, 20 cm of concrete  may not be ideal!!


Weather observations for March 8, 2014; taken at 06;00 hrs this am.

2240 meters     -5, Winds were 45-70 KPH from the S
2180 meters     -4, Winds were 45-70 KPH from the SSE
1860 meters     -4, Winds were 25-50 KPH from the SSE
1835 meters  -3.5, Winds were 20-40 KPH from the ESE
1650 meters,    -1, 5 cm of new snow, 5 cm in 24 hours, Base 232  cm
1550 meters     -1, 2 cm of new snow, 3 cm in 24 hours, Base 182 cm
  660 meters    +1, Valley Temperature, .2 mm of precip yesterday

Reports of a few Size 1 Sc (Ski Cut) and Na (Natural) in the corridor yesterday.


The warm, moist frontal system embedded in a Southwest flow arrived early this morning. This system is being fed well Southwest from the Hawaiian Islands , there is still inconsistency's in the models as far as precip amounts, but the brunt of the storm looks to be South and North of us. The warm front will flow into a cold front later Saturday evening with heavy snow and lowering freezing levels. The majority of the precipitation should finish before Sunday morning. An upper level trough will develop on Sunday with very light precip and cooler temperatures. An upper level ridge will follow in its wake with unsettled conditions for Monday into Wednesday morning, Tuesday is looking like the brightest day. Guesstimates: 18-20 cm By Sunday morning, 1-2 cm by Monday morning.

    Lots of moisture, hoping it stays South or North of our zone and we get cooler temperatures.

    GFS model for today. Not as windy as first forecasted.



The snow is deep, but so is the rain: CAC Forecasters Blog

BNSF railroad  gets Avalanche Control permit from Glacier Park: Montana

Avalanche Awareness Presentations to Schools on East Coast: Western Newfoundland

Warm Temperatures, promote cornice triggered Avalanches: Scotland

Boy,8: 'I tried to lick and bite' my way out of the avalanche: Today News

50 % chance of an El Nino developing this summer: NOAA

Avalanche buries cars, closes US 40 over Berthoud Pass: Colorado

Avalanche Fatality near Brevent: Chamonix

Another snowmobiler dies in an avalanche: Utah, 21 Fatalities in the USA this season

GFS model shows a majority of the precipitation heading North: GFS infrared moisture loop

   Satellite image from yesterday morning , picture below taken in the same time frame.                                                                                                                                                                       

           

             Looks like an atmospheric river for today into Sunday. Perhaps a bit high on the amounts we              
             will receive.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

    Skiing the Curl, Friday March 7, 2014.

    Cornices are getting large.

    Vent hole with some great looking crystals.