Wayne Flann Avalanche Blog: January 27, 2022

YESTERDAY:

Early Wednesday am.

First light on Mt Currie. Clear Skies.

Clouds did appear later in the am.

The park was entertaining.

Great colours in the afternoon.

The show just kept on going.

Red sky at night, skiers take delight, in the next day of shredding.

Weather Observations for January 27, 2022 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters -2, Winds were 20-30 KPH S--Horstman Hut

2180 meters -1, Winds were 25-35 KPH SSW--Whistler Peak

1860 meters -1, Winds were 10-20 KPH ESE--Rendezvous

1835 meters +3, Winds were 10-20 KPH S--Round House

1650 meters -1, 0 cm in 12 Hrs, 0 cm in 24 Hrs. Base 218 cm --Pig Alley

1570 meters. 0, 0 cm in 12 Hrs, 0 cm in 24 Hrs. Base 153 cm. Catskinner

660 meters -6, Valley Temp, Max temp Yesterday was +4.4, 0.0 mm of precip yesterday

FORECAST:

Ridge of high pressure continues to dominate the weather pattern in a Northerly flow aloft. Another inversion this am with the Freezing Level spiking to 2400 m this afternoon, dropping back to surface tonight. Mostly sunny skies for today, may see a few clouds this morning and later this afternoon.. Unsettled Friday as the ridge begins to shift SE. Low moves down the coast with a cold front arriving Saturday. Snow with seasonable temperatures forecasted into Sunday. Weak upper trough will bring mostly cloudy skies for Monday. Guesstimates: 0 cm by Friday am, 0 cm by Saturday am, 10-15 cm by Sunday am, 2-6 cm by Monday am, Trace-1 cm by Tuesday am.

At 07:00 hrs this am we have clear skies, unlimited visibility.

GOES IR Image from this am.

GOES 17 ABI image 2022/01/27. 05:00 Hrs.

Groundhog Day. Persistent ridge with mostly sunny skies, some cloud.

Northerly flow aloft.

Ridge begins to flatten on Friday, mix of sun and cloud.

Low will send a front our way Saturday.

Front should bring precipitation before noon on Saturday.

AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

An avalanche has buried Motorway E6 in Northern Norway. Article below. Narvik Havn Pic

No new avalanches observed on Blackcomb, Snowballing on SW aspect.

Better images of the Sz 2.5 Xc slab release from cornice control on Pearly Gates. Jan 25, 2022.

Slab went just above the 2021/12/01 Crust.

No new avalanches observed on Whistler. We need a new surface!!!

FROM AVALANCHE CANADA:

Avalanche Summary

A natural cornice fall was reported on Tuesday in the far north of the Sea to Sky Region.

Explosive control work near Whistler on Tuesday produced a cornice fall that triggered a size 2.5 deep persistent slab on weak crystals above the early December crust. The slab was triggered mid slope, 60-130cm deep. This indicates that while the weak layer is unlikely to be triggered by skiers and riders, it is still able to be affected by large loads like a cornice.

Snowpack Summary

High elevations hold pockets of dry snow redistributed as wind slabs mostly found on north through east facing slopes, however recent winds have varied so expect loading on all aspects at ridge line.

The January 16 melt freeze crust sits around 30cm deep, observed up to 2100 m. Surface hoar was observed above the crust on south facing slopes at treeline and in the alpine north of Pemberton but this does not appear to be widespread. At lower elevations, the previously rain soaked upper snowpack is moist and may be capped with a breakable crust.

The crust/facet layer formed in early December can be found around 100-200 cm deep, most prominent between 1700 and 2100 m. In shallow features it may sit only 60cm below the surface. This layer showed no reactivity from the warming event on the weekend and is classified as dormant currently. Large loads such as a cornice falls may still be able to trigger avalanches on this layer, especially in areas where the snowpack thins.

INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

Waining moon Wednesday am.