Wayne Flann Avalanche Blog: February 22, 2022

YESTERDAY:

First light Monday am.

Mostly cloudy skies to the South.

Spindrift in the am.

Blue Bird in the afternoon. At 14:30 Hrs at 1860 m it was -15.5 Deg C with a 25-35 KPH N wind.

Clouds to the South West later in the afternoon.

Snow guns were producing a lot of snow at days end.

Weather Observations for February 22, 2022 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters -23, Winds were 35-60 KPH ENE--Horstman Hut

2180 meters -25, Winds were 40-60 KPH N--Whistler Peak

1860 meters -22, Winds were 30-45 KPH N--Rendezvous

1835 meters -23, Winds were 15-35 KPH N--Round House

1650 meters -21, 0 cm in 12 Hrs, 0 cm in 24 Hrs. ?Base 229 cm --Pig Alley

1570 meters -20, 0 cm in 12 Hrs, 0 cm in 24 Hrs. ?Base 163 cm. Catskinner

660 meters -12, Valley Temp, Max temp Yesterday was -1.0, 0.0 mm of precip yesterday

Wind chill at 2180 m -25 with a 50 KPH wind = -42

Wind chill at 1835 m -23 with a 30 KPH wind = -36

As of 07:00 Hs this am we have clear skies an unlimited visibility.

FORECAST:

Ridge of high pressure will bring sunny skies and cold temperatures today in a North-North Easterly flow aloft. The freezing level will remain well below surface. A weak low and trough to the east will send cloud our way on Wednesday. Cold and unsettled in the am, overcast in the afternoon with a chance of some flurries Wednesday evening. Ridge rebuilds for Thursday with sunny skies and seasonable temperatures. More of the same for Friday. A front arrives Saturday with periods of light precipitation. A more zonal flow should bring in a series of fronts into early next week. Guesstimates: 0 cm by Wednesday am, 0-trace by Wednesday am, 0 cm by Thursday am, 0 cm by Friday am, 0 cm by Saturday am, 8-12 cm by Sunday am.

GOES IR image from this am.

GOES 17 ABI Image 2022/02/22. 05:00 Hrs.

Ridge of high pressure with cold Arctic air for today.

North-NorthEast flow aloft.

High shifts North, Low sends cloud our way for Wednesday.

High pressure with seasonable temperatures.

Sunny but warmer than the past 3 days.

AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

Some Sz 1 windslabs Sc in the am on reverse loaded slopes on Whistler.

Some small isolated pockets of wind slab on Blackcomb.

FROM AVALANCHE CANADA--SEA TO SKY:

Avalanche Summary

On Sunday, natural size 1 wind slabs were being observed as well as some isolated natural loose activity. A natural size 2 cornice was also reported which did not trigger a slab.

On Thursday, a natural icefall triggered a size 2.5 slab avalanche on the slope below. This avalanche was on a northeast aspect at 2100 m. Details were limited but we expect this may have been a persistent slab avalanche.

Snowpack Summary

The weekend storm produced 5-10 cm of snow with strong southwest wind that likely formed thin wind slabs in exposed terrain. On Monday, the wind switched to a northeast direction causing reverse loading and thin wind slabs should now be expected on all aspects.

The mid-February crust is down 10-30 cm. This melt-freeze crust is reported to exist on all aspects and elevations, except for some of the highest elevation polar aspects. Facets have been observed above the crust on polar aspects.

The late-January crust/facet/surface hoar interface is buried down 40-100 cm. This layer was most reactive between 1700 m and 2000 m. While this layer now appears to be dormant through most of the region, it may still be possible to trigger it at upper treeline or lower alpine features on polar aspects with a large load like a cornice or in shallow snowpack areas.

INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS: