November 29, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Limited avalanche control, a few Sz 1.5 with Ski Cuts (Sc) at tree line above the crust.

    YESTERDAY:

    Tuesday morning 08:30 Hrs, +1 at 660 meters.

    Light snow and windy early Tuesday morning.

    There was enough snow to make a difference, much better surface than on Monday.

    Breaks in the early afternoon on Tuesday, the snow stopped.


Weather Observations for November 29, 2017 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2180 meters    -8, Winds were 35-40 KPH SSW --Whistler Peak
1835 meters    -5, Winds were 20-35 KPH SSW --Roundhouse
1660 meters    -4, 1 cm of new, 9 cm in 24 hrs  Base 136 cm --Pig Alley

  660 meters   +1, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +2.1, 5.2 mm of precip recorded

    As of 07:15 Hrs we have overcast skies with a few holes and unlimited visibility.

FORECAST:

A weak cold front is moving on to the coast this morning in a Westerly flow aloft. We can expect flurries for most of the day until the front reaches us later today with moderate snowfall and a freezing level hovering in the 1000 meter range. By tomorrow the flow will shift to Southwesterly and we should see more snow flurries during the day with an impulse of snow Thursday night. Light snow will continue into Friday with an upper level trough pushing through Saturday with unsettled weather. An upper level ridge is expected by Sunday with cold temperatures and sunny skies. As the ridge builds into early next week we will likely see warmer temperatures. More on that as we get closer.
Guesstimates: 10-15 cm by Thursday morning, 12-16 cm by Friday morning, 14-18 cm by Saturday morning.

    GOES IR image from this am. Front moving onto the coast.

    More snow for today.

    Light snow on Thursday with another impulse Thursday night.

    Friday is also looking snowy.

    High will be around for a few days next week.

OBSERVATIONS & INFORMATION:

    Conditions were good on Tuesday morning.

    Valley cloud moved in mid morning.

    Looking up the Fitzsimmons Valley.

    Cold front pushing onshore yesterday.

    So close but no luck for us, Mt Baker recieved 40 cm in the past 72 hrs.

    Tuesday afternoon.

    Big picture Tuesday afternoon.

    Overcast on Tuesday around 14:00 Hrs, with breaks later in the afternoon. Broken cloud last night.


ARTICLES:

Debating the direction of continuing avalanche education: Vince Schuley

Heavy snow in the North Cascades prompts avalanche warning: Washington State

Avalanche debris at Avalanche Lake: Montana

Avalanche Bulletin: Glacier National Park

Comments on Avalanche Flow Models based on the concept of Random Kinetic Energy: Journal of Glaciology

Hurley Update November 28, 2017: I Survived the Hurley