December 22, 2016

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

 

    Teton Pass avalanche takes out jeep, investigation finished. Story in article section--Net Pic

    Locally--Not much to report, a couple of Sz 1.5 Xe on Whistler but no other observations.


    YESTERDAY:

    Sunrise Wednesday December 21, 2016--Red Sky in the morning Winter Warning

    First light on the shortest day of the year.

    Marine clouds in the morning.

    Image from Wednesday morning.

    Multiple cloud layers by Mid Morning.

    Looking North later in the day.

    Sunset was at 16:12 Hrs on Wednesday.




WEATHER OBSERVATIONS:

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

2240 meters     -9, Winds were 50-80 KPH S --Horstman Hut 
2180 meters     -9, Winds were 40-95 KPH S --Whistler Peak
1860 meters     -7, Winds were 30-55 KPH S  --Rendevous
1835 meters     -6, Winds were 25-65 KPH SE--Roundhouse
1650 meters     -3, trace of new snow, trace in 24 hrs, 168 cm Base, RH 68%  --Pig Alley
1550 meters     -3, trace of new snow, trace in 24 hrs, 114 cm Base, RH 72%  --Catskinner 

  660 meters     -2, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +2.2, trace of Precip recorded yest

    As of 07:00 hrs this am we have overcast skies, limited visibility andit is snowing.



 FORECAST:

A weakening cold front will arrive this am in a Westerly flow aloft. The freezing level will hopefully stay below 800 meters with light snow expected through the day. A large cool upper level trough will bring cloudy skies for Friday with very light snow flurries with the FL dropping to surface. By Saturday the low will weaken and we should see unsettled weather in a relatively dry air mass. An upper level ridge builds for Sunday with sunny weather forecasted for Christmas Day. A series of Pacific frontal systems will move onto the coast for Monday-Wednesday with more snow on the way.
Guesstimates: 6-8 cm for Friday morning, trace -2 cm by Saturday morning.

    Light snowfall today with srong winds.

    Weakening cold front for today.

    Flow Thursday into Friday.

    Looking nice for Sunday.

    Next front, Boxing day night into Tuesday.




ARTICLES:

Evaluating Avalanche Danger in a warming Climate: Lessons from past climate change

Avalanche Assessments from around the U.S. : December 18, 2016

You can Love the snow without dying for it: Jackson Hole

Update on "3 Scramblers" on "very rough ride" in Kananaskisis Country: Alberta

Teton Pass avalanche investigation concludes: Jackson Hole



    OBSERVATIONS:

    Stratus layer early Wednesday morning.

    Some breaks in the afternoon.

    It is amazing where people find lines!!  Still a shallow snowpack, use caution in the trees!!

    Shortest day of the year.

    Nice light at sunset.