November 23, 2017

               AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

              Very active cycle of glide avalanches on the S aspects slopes above Duffey Lk Doug Tuck Image

     First avalanche fatality in Alaska this season, Hatcher Pass. Story below.                                            Net Pic


    YESTERDAY:

    A break in the clouds Wednesday afternoon.

    There were breaks in the precipitation. Valley high of +10.5 Deg C.

    Wednesday at 14:30 Hrs, + 6 with strong winds.


Weather Observations for November 23, 2017 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2180 meters    -4, Winds were 75-95 KPH S      --Whistler Peak
1835 meters    -1, Winds were 35-80 KPH SSW --Roundhouse
1660 meters     0, 2 cm of new, 2 cm in 24 hrs  Base 124 cm --Pig Alley

  660 meters   +6, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +10.5, 25.1 mm of precip recorded

Squamish received 56.3 mm yesterday.
Pemberton received 33.5 mm yesterday.

    As of 07:30 hrs this am we have ovecast skies and unlimited visibility.

FORECAST:

A cold front last night brought strong winds and heavy precipitation. Was so hoping it would have missed us!! For today we can expect a gradual cooling trend with overcast skies and light snowfall above 1000 meters. The Freezing level will hover in the 1400 meter level and we will continue in a Southwest flow aloft. Friday will see a slightly cooler trough move through with light snowfall trending to moderate by the evening, in a Westerly flow aloft.(FL hovering around 1300 meters) Saturday will be like Friday with light snow during the day and moderate-heavy snow that night. (FL 1300 meters)  Long range there is a drying trend expected by Sunday, with cooler temperatures.
Guesstimates: 10-15 cm above 1000 m by Friday am, 15-20 cm by Saturday morning, 20-40 cm by Sunday morning.


A vigorous frontal band pushed through last night at around 20:30 Hrs. Max gust of 150 KPH SE recorded at 2180 meters at the same time, winds persisted into Thursday morning.  Strong wind in the valley as well. By 01:00 hrs this am the temperature was -1 at 2180 meters, with a trailing cold front. At least it snowed up there. 30 mm of precip recorded at Pig Alley during this time line. Temperature at 2180 meters is -4 as of 05:30 Hrs.. -1 at the Round House.

    GOES IR image from this am.

    Just on the edge of receiving more than less.

    Thursday into Friday. Southwest flow with more precip.

    Upper level trough follows the frontal passage.

    Saturday into Sunday. Low still offshore.

    Another front for Saturday, hopefully it will stay cool enough for snow to mid.

    Drier and cooler for Sunday as the low continues to sink South.

    OBSERVATIONS & INFORMATION:

    Nester's weather plot on Wednesday during a lull. Hi yesterday of of +10.5, 25.1 mm recorded yst..

    Image from Wednesday morning when we had a period of heavy rain.

    Still snow on the roofs as of Wednesday afternoon.

    Snowboarder partially buried in Colorado, story below.                                              CAIC Image

    Very cool shot of ski touring in Antarctica.                                                        Larry Stanier Image



ARTICLES:

Skier dead after avalanche in Hatcher Pass: Alaska

Snowboarder caught and partially buried at Castle Creek: Colorado

Jump start your snow brain: The Outdoors

Experiments on Fracture Propagation and Avalanche Release: WSL