March 12, 2017

     AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    An avalanche kills a skier near Salzburg, Austria. Story in article section--              Net Pic

    Locally, Avalanche control produced some Sz 1 soft slabs-- 1f over 4f Xe, Sc , Xc--yesterday.



   YESTERDAY:

    Light snow to the valley Saturday morning, March 11, 2017.

    Snowing and blowing in the alpine.

    Saturday morning

    Visibility was difficult above 1800 meters.

   Snowing with 85 KPH gusts just after noon at 2240 meters.

    Blowing and snowing at 1835 meters as well.

    Saturday Afternoon

    Light snow with some decent visibility near the end of the day.

    Big picture with moisture plume originating from South Pacific.

  

    Great turns on some fresh snow by days end.



Weather Observations for March 12, 2017: taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters      -5, Winds were 30-50 KPH S  --Horstman Hut 
2180 meters      -4, Winds were 30-50 KPH S  --Whistler Peak
1860 meters      -4, Winds were 25-40 KPH SE--Rendevous
1835 meters      -3, Winds were 15-40 KPH SE--Roundhouse
1650 meters      -1, 7cm of new snow, 15 cm in 24 hrs, 305 cm Base, RH 87%  --Pig Alley
1550 meters      -1, 7 cm of new snow,13 cm in 24 hrs, 221 cm Base, RH 85 % --Catskinner 

  660 meters     +3, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +1.4, 6.8 mm of Precip recorded yest

Full moon is tonight!!

    As of 07:00 hrs this am we have broken cloud, variable visibility and it is snowing very lightly.



FORECAST:

A weak frontal band will arrive today with light precipitation (flurries) and mostly overcast skies, the flow will switch from Westerly to Southwesterly as the day progresses. The FL should hover in the 1500 meter range for most of the day, but may go higher. A warmer frontal band is expected for Monday with FL spiking to 1800 meters and light precipitation. The pattern continues into Tuesday with a rise in the precipitation rate by Tuesday evening and a rise in the FL to around 2000 + meters. By Wednesday a stronger frontal band with a slowly decreasing FL arrives with moderate/strong precipitation, with the FL dropping to surface by Wednesday night. Another strong frontal band is expected Thursday with moderate/heavy snowfall and the FL hovering below the 1000 meter range. Yet more precipitation for Friday, with seasonable temperatures.  Guesstimates:  4-6 cm by Monday morning, 3-6 cm by Tuesday morning, 30-50 mm by Wednesday morning, Thursday is far away and the models are not in agreement.

    GOES IR this am.

   Flow for today, yesterday the Westerly flow kept it fairly cool.

    High to the south will have some influence, drier today.

    Light moisture in the am.

    Light steady precipitation during the day, with a slow shift to Southwesterly flow aloft.

   Warm air being drawn from the South Pacific.

   Similar pattern on Monday with warmer temperatures. 

    Even warmer air on Monday.

           Warm air mass continues into Tuesday.

   Moderate/heavy precipitation Wednesday with cooler temperatures.

    FL drops to around surface by Wednesday night.

   More precipitation Thursday into Friday with seasonable temperatures.

   INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

Mitchell Sulkers March 11 at 6:48pm

Conditions in the Whistler area are as forecast. Every test in this array (four in total) gave consistent results, with most persistent slab releases on a combination of Surface Hoar and facetted grains about 14cm above the 170216 crust complex. This failure plain was down an average of 48-52 in this location, but down significantly deeper on Oboe two days ago, slightly more northwest aspect. One extended column released on the 170216cr, down 65 in this location. ECTP14 down 65 SP, block slid off freely on 31 degree slope. A little spicey at treeline. On the next load the whole block slid off down 48-52cm on a facetted in...

    Drifting snow in front of a cat at 2240 meters.

    High avalanche danger yesterday.

   Ruroc Helmet spotted in Christine's, this helmet mentioned in an article on March 10, 2017.

   Started raining in the valley at around 16:00Hrs. Nester's weather station, 660 meters.

    Porsche Avalanche


ARTICLES:

Avalanche kills skier in Salzburg: Austria

Early March Concerns: Avalanche Canada

Treacherous Avalanche Situation: Tirol Alps