March 21, 2015

    10:00 Hours Friday morning, +1, 20-40 KPH winds from the SE at 1835 meters.

    Reflection of the bottom of Whistler Mountain in Green lake yesterday morning.

    Snow line was still fairly low.

    Light rain in the morning before the lull in precipitation.

    Obscured in the alpine for most of the day. -1 at 12:00 hours, -2 by 19:00 Hours last night.

    Moderate precipitation in the afternoon and into the evening.

    19:00 Hours at 1835 meters Friday evening, similar visibility, -0.5, 20-45 KPH winds from the SE.



Weather Observations for March 21, 2015; taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters     -4, Winds were 40-60 KPH from the S
2180 meters     -2, Winds were 35-60 KPH from the SSW
1860 meters     -3, Winds were 25-45 KPH from the ESE
1835 meters     -1, Winds were 25-55 KPH from the SSE
1650 meters      0, 18 cm of new snow, Base 181 cm, Max temp last night was +1
1550 meters    +1, 12 cm of new snow, Base 130 cm,  Relative Humidity 100%. 

  660 meters    +4, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +5.9, 16.2 mm up to Midnight
                              Squamish recorded 63.6 mm of precipitation on Friday.

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


Explosive control on Whistler Blackcomb yesterday produced mostly size 1-1.5 avalanches, slabs were up to 25 cm thick. Some natural cornice releases were observed from during the storm. A size 2 was recorded on Whistler.

For the forecast, an upper level trough will bring cloudy conditions with light/moderate precipitation this morning easing to unorganised showers later in the day with the freezing level hovering around 1500 meters in a Southwesterly flow. A weak upper level shortwave ridge will move through the area this evening into tomorrow morning with unsettled conditions and a FL averaging about 1300 meters. Increased cloud may bring isolated flurries to the area Sunday afternoon as a cold front moves South of our zone but bringing light precipitation for Sunday night. A series of weak fronts will move through the area early next week with unsettled conditions, the FL will range from 1200 to 1500 meters with light precipitation at times, with cloudy skies to broken cloud with some sunny breaks.
Guesstimates: 1-3 cm today above 1400 meters, 8-10 cm by Monday morning above 1000 meters.

   Light rain this morning diminishing to showers later in the morning.

    Upper level trough passes through later today, with some drying out this evening.

    Drier by this afternoon.

    Upper level trough early Sunday prior to the arrival of a cold front.

    Cold front moving through later on Sunday.

    Upper level trough for Monday with unsettled conditions.

     Moisture in the area for Tuesday.

ARTICLES:

Spicy avalanche conditions expected for the Sea to Sky Corridor: Avalanche Canada

An avalanche survival story: James Mort

March weather, avalanche conditions 'unprecedented' in Aspen: Colorado

March will hopefully go out like a Lion: Gibbons Life

Kyrgyzstan--Warmer world raises avalanche risk: Eurasianet

    Very cloudy and moist in the valley Friday March 20, 2015. First day of spring.

    White line is still doing fairly well considering the temperatures.

    Cooler temperatures coming next week.