Wayne Flann Avalanche Blog: April 2, 2022

YESTERDAY:

Early Friday am.

Broken cloud for a brief period early Friday am.

Decent visibility above 1700 m.

Snow flurries in the am.

Stellar Conglomerates in the pm.

Rain showers in the valley Friday 17:30 Hrs. High of +6.0 Deg C yesterday.

Weather Observations for April 2, 2022 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters -8, Winds were 30-50 KPH SSW--Horstman Hut

2180 meters -8, Winds were 40-50 KPH SSW--Whistler Peak

1860 meters -5, Winds were 10-25 KPH S--Rendezvous

1835 meters -5, Winds were 20-40 KPH SSW--Round House

1650 meters -3, 5 cm in 12 Hrs, 3 cm in 24 Hrs. Base 255 cm --Pig Alley

1570 meters -3, 6 cm in 12 Hrs, 6 cm in 24 Hrs. Base 190 cm. Catskinner

660 meters +2, Valley Temp, Max temp Yesterday was +6.0, 0.0 mm of precip yesterday

As of 06:45 hrs this am we have broken cloud and unlimited visibility.

FORECAST:

The remnants of the weak cold front will bring periods of light precipitation in a Westerly flow aloft. The freezing level is sitting around 1000 m and may spike to around 1200 m. Sunny breaks in the pattern this am with a brief period of unsettled weather. A more potent cold front arrives Sunday with periods of light/moderate precipitation in a cooler airmass. Moderate to strong winds with this snow producer. Another impulse early Monday morning with moderate to strong winds and moderate/heavy precipitation. Dries out on Tuesday with unsettled weather, mostly overcast in the am, with a mix of sun and cloud in the pm. Moist flow will bring snow showers during the day. Wednesday is looking dry with mostly overcast skies with afternoon breaks. Guesstimates: 4-8 cm by Sunday am, 25-35 cm by Monday am, 12-18 cm by Tuesday am, trace-2 cm by Wednesday am, 0 cm by Thursday am.

GOES IR image from this am.

GOES 17 ABI image 2022/04/02. 05:00 Hrs.

Weak upper level trough with seasonable temperatures.

Periods of light precipitation.

Westerly flow aloft.

Cold front arrives on Sunday with colder temperatures. Deep low in the Aleutians.

Light to moderate precipitation on Sunday.

Deep low sends more snow our way with cold temperatures on Monday.

Looks like heavy precipitation early Monday am.

Weak trough with showers, breaks during the day as well on Tuesday.

Dries out Wednesday but likely some dirty ridging.

AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

Cornice control on Whistler Friday am, Sz 1-2 Xc. 1 Sz 1 Xc cornice drop initiated a slab avalanche.

No new avalanche observed on Blackcomb. Sz 1 Xc.

There is frozen debris from last week everywhere.

FROM AVALANCHE CANADA--SEA-SKY:

Avalanche Summary

On Friday, near Whistler, explosive avalanche control produced mostly small cornice avalanches. One falling cornice caused a slab avalanche on the slope below, 50 cm deep. It was on a northwest aspect in the alpine.

On Wednesday, in the Blackcomb backcountry, two avalanches were reported on north aspects in the alpine: a small, rider triggered windslab, and a large, natural cornice failure that didn't trigger an avalanche on the slope below.

Snowpack Summary

5-15 cm of new snow covers a strong, supportive crust on all aspects into the alpine, and settled, soft snow above 2200 m in shaded alpine terrain.

The rest of the upper snowpack consists of a number of crust/facet/surface hoar interfaces buried in March that seem to have bonded during the recent warm weather.

The mid and lower snowpack are generally strong and well bonded.

INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS: