July 4, 2016

    Monday evening, June 27, 2016--Hail rain and lightning-fire started on Whistler Mountain.

    Monday evening-23.3 mm of rain was recorded at 660 meters between 18:30 - 21:30 Hrs. Lucky!!

    Rain and Hail Monday evening.

    Early Tuesday morning, June 28, 2016.

    Became another awesome day.

    Wednesday June 29, 2016--unsettled with some cumulus cloud development.

    Cheakamus Lake Wednesday evening.

    Awesome riding conditions Wednesday.

    Thursday June 30, 2016--Marine stratus layer in the morning.

    Eventually the layer lifted, unsettled Thursday afternoon. This shot from 16:30 Hrs.

    Lots of snow still on the peaks, Duffy Lake road on Thursday.

    Friday morning, July 1, 2016--it did improve as the day progressed to unsettled. 0.5 mm at 660 M.

    Large crowd for the VSO on Friday evening, July 1, 2016. Nice evening with unsettled conditions.

    July 2, 2016--12:00 Hrs--Mostly cloudy with the occasional break.

    Cloudy for most of the day Saturday with a few breaks.

    Sunday July 3, 2016--Mix of sun and cloud --cooler with +4 Deg at 1835 meters at 08:45 Hrs.

    Satellite image from Sunday morning in the same time frame.

    Great day for a hike on Sunday.

    Sunday evening with a few breaks.


Weather Observations for July 4, 2016: taken at 07:00 Hours.

2240 meters        0, Winds were 30-40 KPH S --Horstman Hut
1860 meters      +2, Winds were 10-20 KPH S --Rendevous
1550 meters      +5, RH 76%-- Catskinner

  660 meters    +11, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +18.3. 0.7 mm of Precip recorded yest

    As of 07:00 Hrs this am we have overcast skies with unlimited visibility.


For the forecast; an upper level low in a North-Northwest flow aloft will bring mostly overcast skies for today into Tuesday. Expect showers with periods of light rain until Wednesday with the odd break.  A weak ridge may bring unsettled drier conditions to the area on Wednesday. A stronger upper level low will move through the area Thursday into next weekend with light rain expected and cooler temperatures. Looking back at the past 2 summers with the persistent ridge this reminds me of summers past where we have a series of troughs for most of the summer with moist cool conditions. Hope this pattern eventually changes. Juneuary into July is just not nice!! Good for the forests!!

    Low to the Northeast will sag Southward today.

    A series of upper lows will bring cool unsettled weather to the area this week.

    Northwest flow for today with some rain showers.

    Light rain showers again for Tuesday, with some breaks in the afternoon.

    Some breaks for Wednesday as a weak high tries to build.

    Possibly some breaks on Thursday, but the low to the North may change that outcome.



ARTICLES:

Crews battle fires from Monday nights lightning storm: Pique

What it feels like in the jaws of an avalanche: The Beast Born of Snow

Spearhead Hut System: CBC News

Avalanche Rover: Mechtronics Project

Climate change causing oceanic boundary currents to intensify and shift poleward: AGU

The Biogeography of Red Snow Microbiomes: Melting Glaciers

Winter weather tools for South America: BCA

Last weeks Backcountry news: June 27-July 3, 2016

    Fire on Whistler Mountain Monday June 27, 2016--too close for comfort--Corbin Thomas Photo

    Hail Monday night was intense.

    Awesome day on Tuesday.

    Cheakamus Lake Wednesday.

    Still snow at tree line!!

    Joffre Group Thursday.

    Not looking very good Friday morning. It did improve!!

    Saturday was also mostly cloudy.

                             Sunday hike to Place Creek Falls.