October 17, 2016

    An avalanche on Sunday has claimed the life of a man in the Tyrol Alps, story below.          Net Pic

    Early season ski cut on Mt Blanc, video in article section below.                          @baud_kristo pic

    Snowing Friday afternoon, October 14, 2016.

    Deep low off the coast spreading moderate to heavy precipitation to Whistler.

    Snowline Friday afternoon.

    Moisture plume Friday brought 60.9 mm of precipitation to the Nester's weather station.

    Snow down to 680 meters on Friday, temperature briefly dropped to +1 in the valley.

    Saturday morning October 15, 2016. Above the valley cloud!!

    Image Saturday afternoon. More precip on the way.

    A brief valley view on Saturday.

    Snowing again late Saturday afternoon. 16.9 mm recorded at 660 meters up until midnight.

    Sunday morning October 16, 2016.

    Sunday morning.

    A break in the rain and certainly not looking like winter on Lost lake!!



From Thursday to Sunday Squamish received 201.3 mm of rain at the airport, Whistler received 103.5 mm of rain at 660 meters and Pemberton received 77.3 mm at the airport. Maximum wind gusts in the alpine peaked at 85 KPH during the storm cycle. Various reports out there with 110 cm at 2000 m on Blackcomb Glacier, I am sure there are areas with much more snow and likely some significant drifts. Remember that if there is enough snow to slide on there is enough snow to slide. There are a couple of articles below worth reading in regards to early season conditions!!



Weather Observations for October 17, 2016: taken at 07:00 Hours.

2240 meters    -2, Winds were   5-10 KPH ESE --Horstman Hut
1835 meters     0, Winds were 10-15 KPH SE   --Roundhouse
1650 meters   +1, RH 100%  4.5 mm of rain      --Pig Alley  Precip amount since 00:00 Hrs

  660 meters   +5, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +7.8, 9.3 mm of Precip recorded yest

    As of 07:00 Hrs this am we have overcast skies and variable visibility.


For the forecast, a weakening upper trough will bring cool showery weather to the area in a Southwesterly flow aloft. For today we can expect cloudy skies with intermittent periods of light precipitation and the FL hovering in the 1800+ meter range. Tuesday will be drier with a chance of some periodic light precipitation and a weak high pressure building later in the day. Unsettled for Wednesday morning with a warm moisture plum heading our way by Wednesday afternoon into Thursday. The FL could raise briefly to has high at 2100 meters but then drop back down to 1600 meters by Thursday evening as the front moves through. A weak cool front will move through on Friday with light snow down to 1500 meters. There is not a lot of confidence in the models for later in the week so expect some changes. Will update on Friday.

    Monday morning, mostly cloudy--Drying trend.

    Drying out with unsettled conditions on the way, still a chance of some showers.

    Unsettled for Wednesday with a warm front moving in Wednesday evening.

    Thursday looks like the wettest day of the week.

    Warmer on Thursday, but still a chance for it to be slightly cooler.

    Still some uncertainty in what the low will provide for Friday.



ARTICLES:

An avalanche in the Tyrol Alps has killed a 25 year old man: The Local

2017 Avalanche Airbag review: Mountain Sledder

Not yet winter but avalanches can happen: CBC News

GNFAC Avalanche advisory issued Oct  2016: Montana

Marker King Pin Binding: How to Use

Wyssen Avalanche Control System: Can you fly a primed magazine in Canada?

Chamonix also got snow last week: Early Season Ski Cut

    Briefly snowing just above the valley floor late Friday afternoon.

    Cornice development in the alpine.

    Snow line above Creekside on Saturday afternoon.

    Fall colours on Saturday afternoon, started precipitating later in the day.

    Looking like winter, good coverage into the treeline. Sunday morning.

    Light rain Sunday afternoon in the valley.

    78 cm at 1860 meters.                                                                                               Gord Isnardy Pic

    Information on the re-scheduled Fund Raiser in North Vancouver: Click Here