April 10, 2015

    Groundhog Day Thursday April 9, 2015. Just like yesterday.

    Blue bird in the morning, great conditions in the alpine.

    There is usually a slab release where the moraine has shed ed. Not much snow down there.

    Convective clouds began forming around noon.

    Much thicker by 14:00 hours.

    Just before sunset last night.


Weather Observations for April 10, 2015; taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters      -5, Winds were 45-60 KPH from the SSE
2180 meters     - 4, Winds were 30-65 KPH from the SSW
1860 meters      -3, Winds were 20-35 KPH from the ESE
1835 meters      -2, Winds were 20-45 KPH from the SE
1650 meters       0, Trace of new snow, Base 178 cm
1550 meters     +1, Trace of new snow,  Base 132 cm, Relative Humidity 88%. 

  660 meters     +4, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +16.3.

    As of 07:00 Hours we have cloudy skies with unlimited visibility at 1835 meters. Very light snow.


For the forecast, a front is moving on shore with mostly cloudy conditions today(some breaks), thickening as the day progresses in a Westerly flow aloft. Light precipitation is expected during the day before the bulk of the moisture arrives this evening into early Saturday morning. The freezing level will rise to 1700 meters during the day and drop to 1000 meters tonight as the cold front passes through the area. An upper trough will move through on Saturday with light precipitation, the FL will start around 800 meters rise to, around 1000 meters then drop down to surface by Saturday night. We can expect some breaks Saturday night into Sunday morning. Another weak front will bring cloudy conditions for Sunday afternoon into the evening with light precipitation and FL hovering around 1000 meters. A cold front will move through on Monday with moderate precipitation amounts and a FL rising to 1200 meters then dropping to surface by Monday night.  Tuesday at this time is looking unsettled. Guesstimates: 18-22 cm by Saturday morning, 3-5 cm by Sunday morning, 1-4 cm by Monday morning, 15-20 cm by Tuesday morning.

    Clouds already in the zone, bulk of the precipitation arrives later today into this evening.

    Cold front passes through this evening into early Saturday morning..

    Drier conditions Saturday night into Sunday morning.

    Another cold front for Monday.



VIDEO FRIDAY'S:

Snow Biking is no longer a gimmick: Timber Sledding

Avalanche Engineers : Montana State University

Old Footage, New Story: Whistler off piste avalanche

Snow Enthusiasts, Surfers-- Avalanches, Waves: Avalanches are kind of solid waves!

New World Speed Record on a Snowboard: 203.257 KPH


ARTICLES:

Probing Backcountry's Popularity: sbcbusiness.com

Scientist predict gradual release of greenhouse gases will give mankind time to adapt: Science Daily

Avalanche in Panjshir has buried many houses, some casualties: Afghanistan

Diabetes Devices may interfere with avalanche transceiver signals: Reuters-Health

    Big picture from yesterday evening, 18:30 Hours.

    Amazing spring skiing on Ptarmigan run yesterday afternoon.

    Some off piste turns.

    Cornice debris in West Bowl, Whistler Mountain.

    Ice cave golf in appreciation for the beginning of the masters.                             Erik Graham Photo

    Heli-skiing has been awesome in the past week.                                                  Erik Graham Photo