December 26, 2016

AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    An avalanche kills French skier near Limone Piemonte, Italy story in article below.          Net Pic

Locally no avalanches observed-some sloughing on steep lee terrain. Nov 12 crust in a shallow snowpack still a concern once it gets a load!!

    YESTERDAY:

    Finger nail moon Christmas Day, Dec 25, 2016.

    Some cloud off to the West on Sunday morning.

    Thin cloud spread in as the day progressed.

    Satellite image Sunday morning.

    More cloud just before sunset.

    Last run of the day.




WEATHER OBSERVATIONS:

Weather Observations for December 26, 2016,: taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters   -11, Winds were 35-45 KPH S    --Horstman Hut 
2180 meters   -11, Winds were 35-45 KPH S    --Whistler Peak
1860 meters     -9, Winds were 20-35 KPH SE --Rendevous
1835 meters     -8, Winds were 10-35 KPH S    --Roundhouse
1650 meters     -8, 1 cm of new snow, 1 cm in 24 hrs, 168 cm Base, RH 95%  --Pig Alley
1550 meters   -10, 1 cm of new snow, 1 cm in 24 hrs, 113 cm Base, RH 93%  --Catskinner 

  660 meters   -10, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was -6.3, 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.


FORECAST:

A vigorous front is heading our way with strong winds and moderate/heavy snowfall later in the day in a Westerly Flow Aloft. Expect flurries this am slowly changing to light snow with the freezing level remaining at the surface. The main pulse of the storm will arrive tonight. Tuesday will also bring more snow with breezy conditions as the front continues to pass through the area. Wednesday at this time looks overcast with some light snow fall before another active front passes on Wednesday night into Thursday morning. As of now Friday is looking dry and unsettled as a ridge builds.
Guesstimates: 20-25 cm by Tuesday morning, 8-12 cm by Wednesday morning, 15-20 cm by Thursday morning.

    Front heading our way!!

    Main pulse of the storm arrives tonight into early Tuesday morning.

    More snow Tuesday.



ARTICLES:

Avalanche kills French Skier near Mount Ciamousse: Italy

Officials warn of avalanche danger in Colorado Mountains: The Journal

Trio of Students miraculously survive avalanche in the French Alps: Isere, France



OBSERVATIONS:

    Variable snow surfaces with a few land mines.

    Surface Hoar development.

    Awesome to see the staff in the spirit of Christmas.

    Those skis would hurt my knees. Kids!!!

    Yesterday was an incredible, memorable Christmas!!