January 22, 2016

    An avalanche in Bulgaria has killed 2 tourists, story below.                                                 Net Pic

    An Avalanche in Utah has killed a backcountry skier, story in article section below. Byates Photo

    Early Thursday morning, January 21, 2016. Snowing 2 cm per hour.

    Shut out of the alpine yesterday, strong winds and rapid loading.

    Most people were skiing JC early in the morning.

    Snowing in the valley at 10:45. 0 degrees in the valley, -0.5 at 1550 M, and -1.5 at 2240 M.

    Good skiing on the lower mountain yesterday afternoon.

    Even at 13:30 still snowing in valley , at 1550M 29 cm was recorded from 06:00 hrs to 14:00 Hrs.

    Raining below 1550 meters at days end.


Weather Observations for January 22, 2016: taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters    -1, Winds were 35-55 KPH SSE  --Horstman Hut Station
2180 meters    -2, Winds were 45-55 KPH SSE  --Whistler Peak
1860 meters    -1, Winds were No Data               --Rendevous
1835 meters     0, Winds were 20-35 KPH ESE   --Roundhouse
1650 meters   +1, Trace of new snow, 13 cm in 24 hrs, 205 cm Base, RH 100%  --Pig Alley
1550 meters     0, 3 cm of new snow, 32 cm in 24 hrs, 178 cm Base        --Catskinner 

  660 meters     0, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +0.5. 36 mm of Precip recorded

Avalanche control was limited yesterday but some soft slabs were observed-Sc Na, Sz 1.

    As of 07:00 Hours this am at 1835 meters we have obscured skies, limited visibility and it is snowing.

For the forecast, a trailing weak cold front is following the slow moving warm front. A weak upper level short wave trough will push the cold front East later this morning, with unsettled conditions this afternoon. The freezing level will begin to slowly drop this morning, reaching 1000 meters by tonight.  An approaching weak upper level ridge will bring  unsettled conditions Saturday afternoon. The FL on Saturday will range from 800 meters to 1000 meters. Cool unsettled conditions for the weekend, a mix of sun, cloud, and the occasional isolated flurry. Guesstimates 5-10 cm above 1600 meters by Saturday morning.

    Cooler temperatures and light snow for Friday morning above 1600 meters.

    Looks like Saturday may be unsettled with some sunny breaks.



VIDEO FRIDAY:

Slow moving avalanche, like a lava flow: Switzerland

A fast dry avalanche: Switzerland

Beyond the pow--Avalanche control: Chatter Creek

In bounds avalanche at Sugarbowl: California

Avalanche under Gondola in Meribel: France



ARTICLES:

Avalanche in Bulgaria's Vitosha Mountain kills two people: Europe

One dead after avalanche at Millcreek Canyon: Utah

Tahoe Area Ski Resort seeks prosecution against man who triggered avalanche: Sugar Bowl

NASA, NOAA analyses reveal record shattering Global Warm Temperatures in 2015: Science Daily

Avalanche Danger closes Snoqualmie Pass: Fox News

Warmer Oceans could produce more powerful Super Storms: Science Daily

    Image from Noon yesterday.

    Big picture yesterday afternoon.

    Big Snow-Big Snowman. We had 29 cm at 1550 meters and only 13 cm at 1650 yesterday. 14:00.

    Some great turns up to about 15:00 hours when the snow quality deteriorated.

    Some snow balling in Cougar Chutes yesterday afternoon.

    Roof avalanche yesterday.