March 17, 2015

     Spindrift off Wedge Mountain early Monday morning March 16, 2015.

    First light Monday morning on Whistler Mountain.

    Some clouds developing early Monday to the South.

    Cloudier by noon.

    Clouds thickened later in the afternoon.

    Just before sunset Monday evening.

    Just after sunset Monday evening.



Weather Observations for March 17, 2015; taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters     -7, Winds were 10-20 KPH from the SSE
2180 meters     -5, Winds were 15-20 KPH from the SSW
1860 meters     -4, Winds were 10-15 KPH from the E
1835 meters     -3, Winds were 5-10 KPH from the ESE
1650 meters     -3, No new snow, Base 148 cm
1550 meters     -2, No new snow, Base 105 cm,  Relative Humidity 72%. 

  660 meters     -3, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +10.6.

    As of 07:00 Hours we have scattered high cloud and unlimited visibility.


For the forecast, a weak upper trough will move through the area today with an increase in cloud cover and a chance of some light precipitation this afternoon. The freezing level will fluctuate from 1800 meters to 1500 meters by this evening. A very weak ridge will bring some breaks for Wednesday (mostly cloudy) with the possibility of some isolated showers with increasing cloud cover by the evening as a Frontal Band moves in from the West. The FL for Wednesday will move between 1400 meters and 1800 meters. Thursday will be cloudy with light to moderate precipitation, snow down to 1700 meters, with the FL fluctuating between 1600 and 1900 meters. Friday is looking warm with a mixed bag, showers in the morning, unsettled in the afternoon and cloudy by the evening with the possibility of some light rain showers. As of now Saturday is looking mostly dry but cloudy with a weak ridge building in the evening. Sunday should bring unsettled weather. Guesstimates: 3-5 cm by Thursday morning above 1300 meters, 10-20 cm above 1700 meters on Friday morning.

    Satellite image from 10:00 Hours Monday morning, lear skies in our area.

    Image from 16:00 Hours, thin cloud has moved into the zone.

    Weak front moving on shore today with drier weather for tomorrow.

   Increasing clouds for today as the weak front moves on shore.

    Wednesday could be cloudier than forecasted.

    Front moving our way for Thursday.

ARTICLES:

North Rockies Report--March 12, 2015: Avalanche Canada

Fresh snow great for skiers and snowmobilers: Columbia Valley, B.C.

Weather forecast from: Avalanche Canada

Winterstoke Festival broadens backcountry Education: Whistler Question

   Prepared for what ever may be happening on any given day.

    Snowmakers still hard at work!!

    Recent avalanche activity on the East side of Spearhead Glacier, March 16, 2015.

    Just below Don't Swill on Spearhead Glacier.

   Blacktusk Monday morning.

    Snowmaking on Blackcomb.

    In 1980 the conference centre was slated to be a rink.

    Some ice on the puddles early Monday morning.

    Some cornice development near Spearhead Peak.

    White amongst the brown and green.

March 16, 2015

    High overcast skies, first light Sunday morning--March 15, 2015.

    Cloud layer descended as the day went on.

    Fairly good light at 1835 meters in the morning.

    Obscured by the late afternoon.

    Sunset was at 19:15, high pressure slowly moving South.

Weather Observations for March 16, 2015; taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters     -9, Winds were 25-50 KPH from the NNE
2180 meters     10, Winds were 25-35 KPH from the NNE
1860 meters     -8, Winds were 10-15 KPH from the NW
1835 meters     -7, Winds were 10-20 KPH from the NNE
1650 meters     -6, Trace of new snow, 1 cm in 24 hours, Base 148 cm
1550 meters     -5, No new snow, Base 105 cm,  Relative Humidity 50%. 

  660 meters     -4, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +5.8.

    As of 07:00 Hours we have clear skies and unlimited visibility.

For the forecast, a weak upper level ridge has brought us sunny skies for the morning with some cloud development during the afternoon in a Northeasterly flow. The freezing level will rise to around 1800 meters with day time heating, dropping this evening to around 1200 meters. A weak upper level trough will bring cloudy conditions for Tuesday with some very light precipitation possible later in the day, FL is expected to rise to 1800 meters then descend to 1400 meters in the evening. At this time Wednesday is looking unsettled with the slight chance of some showers during the day, FL rising to a maximum of 1800 meters during the day. A pacific front will bring cloud to the area Wednesday night with light to moderate precipitation through Friday morning. The FL will fluctuate from a low of 1500 meters to a high of 2000 meters by Friday morning. An unsettled pattern looks to continue into Saturday with mostly cloudy skies. Guesstimates: Trace to 2 cm by Wednesday morning above 1300 meters, 1-4 cm by Thursday morning above 1300 meters, 10-15 cm above 1900 meters by Friday morning.

    Satellite image from yesterday afternoon around 12:30 hours, majority of precipitation South.

    Yesterday afternoon around 1630 yesterday. Ridge starting to push low South.

    Big picture yesterday.

    Clear skies for Monday morning, possible cloud development in the afternoon.

     Surface high began building last night.

    Weak front moving onshore for Tuesday.

ARTICLES:

Woman missing in March 2 Nd avalanche not found: Jumla, Nepal

Anchorage man injured in an avalanche while snowmobiling: Squaw Creek, AK

Crews already working to clear Washington mountain passes: Olympia, WA

Boston beats record from 1872, 275.84 cm of snow this winter: 108.6 inches

Sled triggered point release 30cm windslab up Hope Crk Sunday. Didn't travel more than a few meters. Toby Salin Pic

     Hurley Road fail, chains may have helped.                                                                                               Toby Salin Pic

                      White vein linking the valley to the natural snow line.  Binty Massey Pic

        Snowmaking has kept us alive in March.                                                   Binty Massey Pic

    Lower Olympic is still in decent shape.

    March 1981, looks kind of similar in the valley, no snowmaking or town centre. Cliff Jennings Pic

March 15, 2015

    Saturday March 14, 2015--Snowing and blowing at 07:30 Hours.

    Saturday morning, valley view.

    Stopped snowing around noon on Saturday. Max winds yesterday at 2240 meters were 140 KPH.

    Flurries around 14:30 Hours.

    Some sunny breaks late Saturday afternoon.

    Later in the day.

    Just before sunset on Saturday.


Weather Observations for March 15, 2015; taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters     -8, Winds were 5-10 KPH from the SE
2180 meters     -6, Winds were 0-5 KPH from the SE
1860 meters     -3, Winds were 0-5 KPH from the E
1835 meters     -3, Winds were 5-10 KPH from the NNE
1650 meters     -3, 1 cm of new snow, 9 cm in 24 hours, Base 150 cm
1550 meters     -1, No new snow, Base 105 cm,  Relative Humidity 78%. 

  660 meters      0, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +10.8, 13.1 mm of precip  for Saturday.

   As of 07:00 Hours we have cloudy skies and unlimited visibility.

For the forecast, we can expect a mostly cloudy day with very light precipitation later in the day. The freezing level will hover around 1400 meters in a Southwesterly flow aloft.(dropping to 1000 meters tonight).  The majority of the precipitation from the low will be to the south of our area. A short lived surface high will begin to build early Monday morning bringing sunny skies by the afternoon then clouding over into the evening (FL ranging from 1200-1700 meters). Tuesday will also see mostly cloudy skies with some light precipitation later in the day. As of now Wednesday is looking unsettled with some isolated showers and a FL ranging from 1500-2000 meters. The models are still out of sync, so the forecast is bound to change quickly during the week. Guesstimates: Trace to 3 cm above surface for Monday morning, Trace to 3 cm by Wednesday morning above 1500 meters.

    Satellite image from noon on Saturday.

    Most of the moisture was just South of our area, so close!!

    Flow for the day.

    Bulk of the precipitation to our South.

    On the edge.

    Short lived high pressure for Monday.

    Moisture moving in for later on Tuesday.



ARTICLES:


13 Avalanches hit Dagestan's Tsuntinsky District: Russia

Will March bring snow to the BC Coastal Mountains: Arcteryx Blog

Beaver Creek patrol tryouts: March 22-28

Scarpa recalls F1 Evo Boot: EarnYourTurns

3 injured as an avalanche strikes Tral Village: Srinagar, India

    Wedge Mountain late Saturday afternoon.

    Looking into the valley from Ptarmigan run on Whistler Saturday afternoon.                   GT Photo

    Recent pow skiing in Ashaidake Japan                                                                 Brad Klass Photo

   Recent Paragliding at 5000 meters in Nepal.                                                          Jim Orava Photo