January 18, 2015

   Avalanche in Nauders, Austria claims one life. Story in Articles below.                      EPA Image

    Sunrise, 08:04 Hours, snowing less than 1 cm per hour. Saturday January 17, 2014. -4 Light winds

    By noon the snow eased off and people were loving the conditions.

    At 15:30 you could see across the valley, Saturday afternoon.

    Just after sunset and still no Pacific Front.

    Avalanche Awareness Days yesterday, more fun today, check it out.  Top of Solar Coaster  SC Pic


Weather Observations for January 18, 2015; taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters        -4, Winds were 55-80 KPH from the S
2180 meters        -3, Winds were 45-75 KPH from the S
1860 meters        -3, Winds were 30-60 KPH from the ESE
1835 meters        -1, Winds were 30-70 KPH from the SSE
1650 meters         0, 11 cm of new new snow, 22 cm in 24 hours,  Base 154 cm
1550 meters         0, 15 cm of new new snow, 24 cm in 24 hours,  Base 128 cm,  RH 99%.

  660 meters         0, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yest +1.4, Precip 5.3 mm in the past 24 hours


Max gust at 2240 meters last night was 130 KPH, Max gust at 2180 meters was 120 Kph, at 1860 it was 90 KPH and at 1835 it was 90 KPH. All early this morning. 

    As of 07:00 hours we have obscured skies, variable visibility, and it is snowing 1 cm per hour.

For the forecast, a cold front in a Westerly flow aloft will follow the warm front as it moves through the area early this morning. We can expect Light-moderate snowfall this morning easing to light snowfall this afternoon with the freezing level dropping to 1000 meters later this morning. This evening should bring post frontal flurries into Monday morning, a weak upper level ridge will build for Monday afternoon bringing unsettled conditions into Tuesday.  Freezing levels will be around 800-1000 meters for Monday and Tuesday. As of now Wednesday is looking like a dry cloudy day, with a relatively warm air mass.  Guesstimates: 10-12 cm by Monday morning.

    Satellite image at 16:00 Hours yesterday afternoon.

    Big picture January 17, 2015, most of the energy appears to be moving South. 

    Even with the storm tracking mostly South we did well with 24 cm in 24 hours.

   There will be a lot of precipitation in Washington state.

    Cold front will drop the Freezing Level to 1000 meters around noon.

    Drying out for Monday afternoon with the weak high pushing in.

ARTICLES:

Skier dies in Tyrol Avalanche: Austria

Be safe in the Backcountry: Aspen Times

A Strong Pacific Frontal System moves over Southern BC: Avalanche Canada

2014-Warmest year on Modern Record: Science Daily

    Copulating stellars yesterday morning at 700 meters.

Welcoming group at the Avalanche Hut on Saturday!                                                               SC Pic