December 16, 2015

    An Avalanche just outside Sun Valley Ski area seriously injures skier, story below.       Net Pic

    Early Tuesday December 15, 2015.

    Flurries during the morning into the afternoon. Fairly good visibility from 2000 m to 1700 m.

   Flurries eased off by the end of the day.

Weather Observations for December 16, 2015: taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters     -14 Winds were 20-45 KPH SSW        --Horstman Hut Station
2180 meters     -14, Winds were 35-60 KPH NNW       --Whistler Peak
1860 meters     -12, Winds were 30-40 KPH NW          --Rendevous
1835 meters     -11, Winds were 5-15 KPH SSE           --Roundhouse
1650 meters     -10, 1 of new, 3 cm in 24 hours 168 cm Base, Relative Humidity 92%  --Pig Alley
1550 meters       -9, 1 cm of new, 130 cm Base           --Catskinner 

  660 meters       -7, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +o.3. 1.3 mm precipitation recorded.

    As of 07:00 Hours we have clear skies and unlimited visibility.


For the forecast, a surface high will bring mostly sunny skies for today in a Northeasterly flow. The freezing level will be well below the valley floor in the morning rising to about 600 meters by this   evening. We will see some cloud development later today. The next warm front moves onshore early Thursday morning with overcast skies. Thursday will be cloudy with light snowfall in the morning, increasing as the day progresses. The freezing level on Thursday has the potential to reach 1000 meters by nightfall. Friday and Saturday at this time are both looking like overcast days with light snowfall to the Valley.  Guesstimates: 20-25 cm by Friday morning, 10-15 cm by Saturday morning,
30-40 cm by Sunday morning.

    Surface high has pushed into our zone for today.

    We will see some cloud later this morning as the next front moves onshore late in the day.

    Cold front on Friday will bring light snow to the valley.

   A trough on Saturday will bring light snowfall before an intense system arrives Saturday night.

    Another Pacific front for early Sunday morning..



ARTICLES:

Skier Injured in Sun Valley Avalanche: Warm Springs, Idaho

New IPhone App warns for Avalanche Danger: SnoPro

European Ski Areas pondering the unthinkable: A Future without snow

The mysteries of glide avalanches: ScienceNordic

    Image from yesterday we received 3 cm at 1550 meters by 14:30 Hrs.

    Big picture yesterday.

    A break later in the afternoon Tuesday.

    Above 2000 meters the visibility was challenging for most of the day.

    Taken just before sweep on Tuesday.