8 Mar 2018

March 8, 2018


    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Update on the avalanche fatality on Setting Sun Mtn in Washington State. Article below. Net Pic

    Locally, some Sz 1 wet loose on solar aspects. Sa reported on south aspect 2000 m Sz 1 LW.



    YESTERDAY:

    Awesome light early Wednesday morning.

    High cirrus cloud did move in.

    Still fresh snow to be had.

    Blackcomb Peak, some loose wet Sz 1 from Tuesday.

    Cool clouds in the afternoon.

    Great light as the sky got darker.

    More cloud at the end of the day.

    Thursday afternoon.

    Big picture Thursday.


Weather Observations for March 8, 2018  taken at 06:00 Hours.

2180 meters   -5, Winds were 50-75 KPH S        --Whistler Peak
1835 meters   -3, Winds were 25-35 KPH WSW --Roundhouse
1660 meters   -3, 2 cm of new, 2 cm in 24 hrs  Base 304 cm --Pig Alley
  660 meters   -1, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +5.3, 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:

Surface low to the South will being overcast skies and light snowfall to the area in a Southwest flow aloft. The warm and cold front associated with this low will brush us while the majority of the precipitation will occur South of our zone. The freezing level may go up as high as 1500 meters this afternoon.  An upper cold front to the North will pass through our zone tonight with Moderate snowfall and the FL dropping to surface by tomorrow morning. That will be the end of any snow until at least next Tuesday. High pressure will begin to build Friday morning bringing unsettled weather. By Saturday the upper level ridge will strengthen but still a combination of sun and cloud.
Sunday is looking similar with more sun, Monday is looking like a mostly sunny day.
Guesstimates: 14-18 cm by Friday morning.



    GOES IR image this am.


    Low is moving its way up the coast. Warmer temps for today.


    There is alot going on!!

    FL should drop back down to surface by Friday morning.

    Fronts on the coast.

    Drying trend with high pressure at the surface and aloft.

    Unsettled but Friday will be a fun day.


    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Clouds built slowly on Thursday.

    Mount Garibaldi, click for info.

    Snow did warm up snowballing, pinwheeling, wet loose up to Sz 1 .

    Cornices are beginning to cleve.

    Fresh Tracks.

    Some moisture just to our South Thursday. Low off the coast is heading North.

Recent Avalanche Canada MIN Report:

Western Duffey Glaciers


From Northwest Avalanche Accident Summaries:

March 4, 2018

One splitboarder traveling in a party of 4 was killed in a slab avalanche that released off a sub-peak of Setting Sun Mountain near Mazama, WA. The slide released on a WNW aspect at 6900ft and ran 800 vertical feet. The avalanche (HS-AR-R4-D2.5-O/G) had an average crown depth of 28” (70 cm) and was approximately 230ft (70m) wide, breaking trees that were up to 6” in diameter. The avalanche failed on facets over a thin crust and stepped down to deeper layers. 




ARTICLES:

More information on the avalanche death on Setting Sun Mountain: Washington State

Skiers are dying in Tree Wells and avalanches in 2018: Gripped

Tree wells kill two in one day: Mt Bachelor

Jan Sterren, 28, killed in Ski Touring Accident: Switzerland

The underlying causes of Tibetan ice avalanches: Nature

Avalanches are a constant threat to adventurers: Alaska

The new West Coast weather satellite is launched: Cliff Mass Weather Blog

No comments:

Post a Comment