March 27, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    An avalanche in Japan has killed 7 students and 1 teacher, story in article section.              Net Pic

    Locally, a few Sz 1 ssl in lee and cross loaded steep alpine terrain, reported yesterday. No AC.


   YESTERDAY:

    Snow line was down to 900 meters Sunday March 26, 2017.

    Snow in the valley is melting quickly.

    Overcast for most of the day.

    Sunday morning. Most of the precip went South!

    Visibility was variable in the alpine most of the day.

    At times obscured.

    Fire and Ice show Sunday evening.


Weather Observations for March 27, 2017: taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters      -3, Winds were 20-30 KPH SE --Horstman Hut 
2180 meters      -6, Winds were 20-40 KPH S  --Whistler Peak
1860 meters      -4, Winds were 10-20 KPH SE--Rendevous
1835 meters      -4, Winds were   5-15 KPH SE--Roundhouse
1650 meters      -2, 5 cm of new snow, 7 cm in 24 hrs, 330 cm Base, RH 88%  --Pig Alley
1550 meters      -2, 6 cm of new snow, 9 cm in 24 hrs, 246 cm Base, RH 98 %  --Catskinner 

  660 meters       0, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +5.0, 1.8 mm of Precip recorded yest

   As of 07:00 Hrs we have broken cloud, unlimited visibility and it is snowing lightly.

FORECAST:

An upper level trough will bring overcast skies with very light precipitation to the area today in a Southwest flow aloft. The FL will rise to around 1500 meters this afternoon and drop back down to 1000 meters tonight. A warm front is forecasted for Tuesday with light/moderate precipitation and the FL hovering in the 1400 meter range. A stronger frontal band is expected Wednesday with the FL maxing out at around 1500 meters. A weak upper trough and surface high will bring unsettled weather to the area Thursday and Friday.
Guesstimates: 4-8 cm by Tuesday morning, 12-16cm by Wednesday morning, 15-25 cm by Thursday morning.

    GOES IR image this am.

                Upper level trough with very light prcip.

    Slightly stronger front Tuesday.

    Low will bring the most precipitation for this week, on Wednesday.

    Surface high with unsettled weather Thursday into Friday.



INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Container on Ptarmigan.

    Pig Alley weather plot.

    Snowing in the alpine at 15:30 hours.


ARTICLES:

Seven school children and one teacher feared dead in an avalanche: Japan

Peak Snowpack Time: Cliff Mass Weather Blog

Good terrain choice on a deep & touchy weekend: Mountain Sledder

Aspen backcontry skier shares his avalanche experience: Colorado