April 18, 2014

    Snow in the trees at 1200 meters yesterday morning, April 17, 2014.

    Melt freeze from Wednesday night. By 15:00 hrs yesterday Temp at 2240 meters was 0.

    Snow was blowing around Thursday morning, Sc produced size 1 ssl in the upper elevations.

    In the afternoon warm air aloft created pinwheeling and in places moist slabs up to size 1.5.

    A small break yesterday afternoon.


Weather observations for Friday, April 18, 2014; taken at 06:00 Hrs.

2240 meters      -8, Winds were 20-30 KPH from the SSW
2180 meters      -7, Winds were 35-50 KPH from the S
1860 meters      -7, Winds were 10-20 KPH from the S
1835 meters      -7, Winds were 20-45 KPH from the S
1650 meters      -4, 6 cm of new snow, 6 cm in 24 hrs, Base 243 cm
1550 meters      -3, 8 cm of new snow, 8 cm in 24 hrs, Base 196 cm
  660 meters     +2, Valley Temperature, 7.5 mm of precipitation measured yesterday



For the forecast, the weak high pressure aloft will try to establish itself for today,  gradually we will see more sunny breaks, but there will be some clouds, for an unsettled day. A cold front will reach the coast Saturday morning and move inland, cloudy skies with light snow ramping up to moderate snowfall for Saturday evening. Sunday is looking mostly dry as another weak cold front moves through our zone. The upper level low over the NE Pacific will slowly shift inland on Monday bringing light snowfall in the upper elevations. After Monday the weather remains cool and unstable for more light precipitation. Possible for some weak ridging on Wednesday. Freezing levels will remain around 1300 meters this afternoon. No real change in the freezing levels until Monday when they will begin to rise to around 1800 meters. Guesstimates: trace to 2 cm by Saturday morning, 10-12 cm by Sunday morning, 7-9 cm by Tuesday morning.

                                As of 07:00 hrs we have overcast skies and variable visibility.

    Fairly thick clouds in our zone yesterday morning.

    Certainly looking unsettled for today from yesterdays big picture.



Video Fridays:

Towed behind a ski plane on Skis: Alaska

Switch Triple Frontflip: Jesper Tjader

Fox dives into snow for lunch: Yellowstone

Urban Snowboarding in Montreal: Seb Toots

Swiss High Wire Walker; world record: Freddy Nock

Russian Water pack-platform: Hoser's

Brandon Semenuk's RAD COMPANY Trailer: You Tube

Volkl team skiing in la Grave: V-Works BMT



Articles:

Altitude and the Timing of the Snowmelt: Wasatch Weather Weenies

Mountain Rescue experts warn snow enthusiasts to exercise caution: Freenewspos.com

Update on Norwegian Avalanche Tragedy: The Local

Everest Avalanche: 12 bodies retrieved so far: Katmandu

Powder, Rain, and Sunshine-Its Springtime: CAC Forecasters Blog

Footage of Avalanche on Mount Everest: You Tube

    The moist snow made for some interesting cornice noses.

    Bottom of 7 Th heaven.

    Depending on elevation visibility yesterday was challenging.

    In the valley at days end with some decent vis below the cloud.