April 4, 2015

    First light Friday April 3, 2015.

    Some blue moving in early Friday morning.

    High, Mid, and low level cloud Friday morning.

 

    Snow line came down just above the valley floor yesterday morning.

    It did become cloudier as the day progressed but very little precipitation.

    Light snow flurries at around 14:30 hours.

    Snowing in the alpine by 17:00 Hours on Friday.


Weather Observations for April 4, 2015; taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters    -10, Winds were 20-30 KPH from the SSE
2180 meters     - 8, Winds were 20-25 KPH from the SSW
1860 meters      -8, Winds were 10-20 KPH from the E
1835 meters      -6, Winds were 10-20 KPH from the SSE
1650 meters      -4, 6 cm of new snow, 7 cm in 24 hours, Base 187 cm
1550 meters      -4, 7 cm of new snow, Base 138 cm, Relative Humidity 93%. 

  660 meters     +1, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +7.8, 0.9 mm recorded on Friday.

   As of 07:00 hours at 1835 meters we have overcast skies and unlimited visibility, snowing lightly.


For the forecast, the front has moved on with an upper level low to the Northwest churning cloud at our zone for the next few days. We can expect post frontal showers this morning with mostly cloudy skies in a cool moist Southwest flow aloft. Partly cloudy to mostly cloudy skies will be with us until Tuesday as the low moves Southeast. An upper ridge will develop for Tuesday with sunny warm conditions. Freezing levels for today will start around 800 meters, rising to 1400 meters this afternoon and dropping to 1000 meters by this evening. Sunday will be slightly warmer with FL 1400 meters in the morning rising to 1700 meters during the day and dropping to 1000 meters Sunday night. Monday will be similar to Sunday then when the ridge builds expect dry warm weather with the FL rising to 1800+ meters. Guesstimates: trace to 2 cm at 1550 meters by Sunday morning.

    Most of the cloud went South yesterday morning and afternoon.

    Southwesterly flow with showery weather this morning.

   Isolated showers with cool temperatures for this afternoon..

    Moisture around on Sunday but should be drier than today.

    Mostly cloudy with some breaks on Monday.

    Low will be replaced by the high on Tuesday.


ARTICLES:

Guide falls off cornice in Alaska: Wrangell-St Elias National Park

4 Soldiers killed in an avalanche when it buried their vehicles: Kashmir, India

Austrian's return home after avalanche tragedy: France

East Coast Avalanche: Mt Colden, NY

150-200 Reindeer dead after avalanche in Trollheimer: Norway

    Friday morning image shows clouds moving South.

    Big picture Friday morning.

    Productive clouds later on, Friday afternoon.

    Green lake was like a sheet of glass on Friday morning.

    Multiple layers of cloud yesterday morning.

    Groomed pass almost to the bottom of Lower Olympic Run Friday morning.

    Barrow's Golden Eye's on Green Lake.

    American Coot also on Green Lake.

April 3, 2015

    08:00 Hours Thursday April 2, 2015--Mid mountain cloud began lifting.

    Mid mountain to the peaks.

    By 09:30 the cloud layer lifted above 1835 meters.

    By 12:30 the clouds were at around 1850 meters.  Sky was mostly cloudy.

    After closing Thursday evening.

   Around 18:30 Hours Thursday evening.

    Clouds were getting thicker.

Weather Observations for April 3, 2015; taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters      -8, Winds were 20-30 KPH from the SE
2180 meters     - 6, Winds were 20-30 KPH from the S
1860 meters      -6, Winds were 5-15 KPH from the SSE
1835 meters      -5, Winds were 10-20 KPH from the SE
1650 meters      -3, 2 cm of new snow, Base 179 cm
1550 meters      -3, 1 cm of new snow, Base 132 cm, Relative Humidity 95%. 

  660 meters     +2, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +9.4.

    As of 07:00 Hours we have overcast skies, unlimited visibility and it is snowing lightly.

Today's forecast, a flat weakening occluded front will pass through the area today in a Southwesterly flow aloft. The freezing level will rise to 1400 meters during the day and drop back down to 800 meters tonight, we will see periods of light rain with breaks in between.   An upper low will bring cool showery weather to the area on Saturday as the air mass will remain unstable, drier conditions are expected for Sunday with a mix of cloud and sunny periods. The upper low will slowly move down the coast during this time period. FL will fluctuate from 1300-800 m on Saturday and 1500-1000 m on Sunday.  Monday morning will start as a cloudy day then transition later to unsettled conditions as a broad upper trough moves through with the chance of some showers.  Tuesday will be unsettled with warm air moving into the area and Wednesday at this time is looking mostly sunny as a weak upper ridge develops. . Guesstimates 8-10 cm by Saturday morning.

    Flow for today.

    Weak front with light precipitation.

    Chance of showers on Saturday. Drier on Sunday.

    Low moves down the coast.

    Drier on Wednesday as the upper ridge builds.

    The high is migrating into the North Pacific for the weekend pushing the low inland.



VIDEO FRIDAY'S:

Sicamous man up close and personal with an avalanche while snowmobiling: Blue lake B.C.

World Mountain Bike Speed Record: Eric Barone

Flying Snowmobile: Finland

Avalanche and the next day: DooTalk



ARTICLES:

Update on avalanche in France: Ecrins Mountain Range

Update on investigation to the avalanche death in Alaska last month: Inexperience

Up Hill skiing gains traction in Colorado: Aspen, CO

How a snowflake turns into an avalanche: Subzero laboratory

    Cornice drop on North aspect of Decker causing size 1.5 avalanche Wednesday. Bridget McClarity

    Surface Hoar development Thursday.                                                         Bridget McClarity Photo

    Great light early yesterday morning.

    Lower Olympic run is pretty much done.

    Bottom melted quickly over the past few days.

    Whistler Cup starts on Ptarmigan.

    Just before 10:00 Hours on Thursday morning.

    Thursday afternoon.

   09:45 Thursday, the front is just hitting the North Coast.

    Thursday afternoon.

April 2, 2015

    An avalanche in the Col de Emile Pic, France has killed 3, injured 1, story in article section.Net Pic

    08:00 Hours April 1, 2015--Mostly cloudy with some breaks.

    First light Wednesday morning.

    Mid and high clouds in the morning.

    Cloudier in the afternoon.

    Sunset Wednesday night.


Weather Observations for April 2, 2015; taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters     10, Winds were 5-20 KPH from the SE
2180 meters     - 8, Winds were 0-5 KPH from the E
1860 meters      -7, Winds were 0-10 KPH from the E
1835 meters      -6, Winds were calm SE
1650 meters      -5, No new snow, Base 179 cm
1550 meters      -4, No new snow, Base 132 cm, Relative Humidity 86%. 

  660 meters      -2, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +7.7, 2.5 mm recorded on Wednesday.

   As of 07:00 Hours we have clear skies and unlimited visibility with mid mountain cloud at 1500 M.

For the forecast, a weak high pressure moved into the zone last night with clear skies early this morning and cool temperatures. Clouds will begin to move into the area quickly this morning thickening as the day progresses. The freezing level will rise to about 1400 meters today and drop back to 1000 meters this evening as the cold front moves into the area.  Friday will be overcast with light to moderate precipitation in a Westerly flow with FL maxing out at around 1200 meters and dropping to the surface by Friday evening. Yes, snow will fall in the valley by early Saturday morning!! Saturday is looking unsettled with post frontal showers a possibility with the unstable air mass. Sunday will also be unsettled but slightly drier than Saturday and warmer. FL during this period will fluctuate from daytime highs of 1300 meters to lows of 800 meters.  An upper low will bring cloudy conditions to the area Monday through Tuesday with light precipitation. Guesstimates: 4-6 cm by Friday morning, 10-12 cm by Saturday morning                                                    

    Satellite image from yesterday.

    Cloud moving on shore followed by some warm air then a cold front moves in early Friday am.

    Unstable air aloft may bring some isolated showers this afternoon.

    Front arrives early Friday morning.

    Upper trough will bring unsettled conditions for Saturday and part of Sunday.

    An upper low will bring cloud back into the area for Monday.




ARTICLES:

Avalanche in France has claimed 3 lives: Near Briancon

Coast Range--Whistler Area and Duffey Zone conditions report: ACMG Blog--March 23-31, 2015

Helmet Cam captures Sicamous sledder in an avalanche: Blue Lake, BC

Climbers returning to Mount Everest after last years deadly avalanche: Nepal


Thanks Dave Sarkany for this photo from yesterday, Pemberton ice cap/Peterson Creek Area:

Hi Wayne, check out this nice fresh slide. There is no new snow on the debris. We where there mid day today and figured it was max 12 hours old. There was a lot of activity here mid storm, other stuff was triggered by cornice drops later.This one stood out though as its hard to find the trigger.

    1 Kg explosive released this slide on New Years (Blackcomb) yesterday morning.                                Joe Hertz Photo

    Hard to say if it was the March 28 crust or the March 11 crust. Only result!!          Joe Hertz Photo  

    Snow line came close to the valley yesterday morning.

    Convective cloud development and showers during the day.

    Rain and hail showers during the day.

    Grass is getting greener.

    Lower Dave Murray is done!!

    Big picture yesterday at 16:00 Hours.