March 5, 2015

    Avalanche kills snowboarder in Hells Canyon near Snowbasin Utah. Image from 2007. UAC Pic

    Thin sparse cirrus clouds 11:00 Hours Wednesday Morning.

    Last few cold mornings have brought on some ice development on the local lakes. March 4, 2015.

    Lower Olympic run on Whistler Wednesday morning, great man made snow for this time of year.

    A different perspective of Lower Olympic Run.

    Mount Currie Wednesday morning. Lots of snow in the alpine.

    Looking East at 16:30 Hours Wednesday, high broken cirrus cloud.


Weather Observations for March 5, 2015 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters       -4, Winds were 15-25 KPH from the S
2180 meters       -4, Winds were 25-35 KPH from the SSW
1860 meters       -2, Winds were 20-30 KPH from the E
1835 meters       -1, Winds were 5-20 KPH from the SSE
1650 meters       -4, no new snow, Base 145 cm
1550 meters       -3, no new snow, Base 109 cm,  Relative Humidity 75%.

  660 meters       -3, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +8.4.

   As of 07:00 Hours we have high overcast and unlimited visibility.

For the forecast, the strong upper ridge will continue to weaken slightly and flatten out for today in a Westerly flow as a weak weather system passes by to the North. The air mass is fairly dry and stable but there is still a very slight chance of some intermittent showers Thursday evening. The ridge will rebuild on Friday and continue to strengthen for Saturday. Temperatures will rise over the weekend, with the freezing level topping out at 2300meters Saturday and 2500 meters on Sunday. Sunday will start as a sunny day, become  unsettled in the afternoon into Monday morning, then a weak upper trough will bring some snow to the area. Too early to Guesstimate, but if the model run is correct we could see 10-15 cm by Tuesday morning with the white stuff coming down to the valley in a Northwesterly flow. More on the amounts as we get closer. Models are trending towards a change next week, hopefully with a more normal pattern and cooler temperatures . 

    Some cloud spilling into the zone today but the strong surface high & ocean highs are pushing back.

    Strong high pressure pushes back on Friday with the FL rising to 2200 meters.

    Sunny on Saturday with warmer temperatures. Another omega block.

    High pressure pushes back on Friday for unsettled weather before strengthening Saturday.

    Ridge begins to flatten on Sunday in a Westerly Flow, bringing unsettled conditions.

    GFS has some precipitation heading our way for Monday evening with FL around 1500 meters > 1200.

ARTICLES:

Snowboarder killed in an out-of-bounds avalanche in Weber County: Hells Canyon, Utah

More information on Australian killed in Austrian avalanche: Group did not have proper safety equipment

One more avalanche fatality in India: Kugti Village

Should Ski Patrollers be paid more: SnowBrains

Ski Patrol--A Real Job: D'Arcy McLeish

There's too much poo on Mount Everest: Health Risk

Robert Bradley Fuller ID'ed as Kimberely skier who died in avalanche: BC Coroners Service

    Crocuses growing in the town centre.

    Lower Dave Murray.

    Skiers and boarders were enjoying the high quality man made on Lower Dave.

    Lower Dave Murray.

    Lower Dave from West side of the valley.

                     Wizard and Magic Chair on Lower Blackcomb.

    Another productive day in the snow making department.