April 12, 2016

    Early Monday morning, April 11, 2016.

    Visibility in the alpine went from obscured to variable most of the day.

    A brief moment of morning light in a break in the cloud.

    There were some good turns mid Mountain.

    Soft at 1600 meters in the morning.

    There were moments of very light precipitation.

    Convection to the Southwest in the afternoon.

    By days end there were some large breaks in the cloud cover.

    Sunset was officially at 19:59, Monday.


Weather Observations for April 12, 2016: taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters      -5, Winds were  25-55 KPH S       --Horstman Hut Station
2180 meters      -5, Winds were  30-40 KPH S       --Whistler Peak 
1860 meters      -3, Winds were  10-25 KPH SSW --Rendevous
1835 meters      -2, Winds were  15-25 KPH SSW --Roundhouse 
1650 meters      -1, trace of new snow, 0 cm in 24 hrs, 267 cm Base, RH 94%  --Pig Alley
1550 meters      -1, trace of new snow, 0 cm in 24 hrs, 216 cm Base, RH 99%  --Catskinner

  660 meters     +5, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +12.8. 0.0 mm of Precip recorded yest

    As of 07:00 Hrs this am we have overcast skies, variable visibility and it is snowing lightly.

For the forecast, the cold front will bring moderate winds and light to moderate precipitation today in a Southwesterly Flow aloft. The front will likely exit on Wednesday morning with some unsettled weather in its wake. The FL is forecasted to drop to 1000 meters by this evening and rise back up to 1500 meters by Wednesday afternoon. A dirty ridge will bring unsettled weather for Thursday with sun and some cloud. Friday, the weak upper level ridge continues to bring unsettled weather, with the chance of some scattered showers.  Another very weak fast moving band of moisture is likely for Saturday afternoon with unsettled conditions in the morning and evening.  The FL will likely rise to 2400 meters on Saturday.  Another weak ridge is forecasted to build for Sunday. Still far away, so more on that as we get closer as the weather changes quickly in the spring!! Guesstimates: 12-16 cm by Wednesday morning. 1-2 cm by Thursday morning.

    After a brief break last night the front arrives this morning.

    Moisture is on our door step.

    Image from this am.

    Front moves through into Wednesday morning.

    Unsettled weather Wednesday.

    Dirty ridge for Thursday

    Long term a weak front for Saturday afternoon.



ARTICLES:

Spring Backcountry Avalanches: Colorado Ski & Snowboard Museum

The Problem with Fake Snow: Powder Magazine

Spring Avalanche Conditions: Northwest Avalanche Center

    Early Monday morning.

    Monday afternoon. Low is doing its thing.

    Big picture Monday afternoon.

    Size 2.5 Nc in Sun Bowl on Whistler yesterday afternoon. No involvement.

    Around noon Monday.

    Valley is in summer mode.

    Fairways at the Chateau are looking good.

    The white line is shrinking quickly.