July 11, 2016

   An avalanche on Mount Elburus has one climber missing another injured, story below--Net Pic

    An avalanche in Switzerland has injured 5 hikers-Santis Mtn, article below--Valais Cotovan Pic

    Monday evening July 4, 2016. Post thunder storm. 16.2 mm recorded at 660 meters Monday night.

    Tuesday--July 5, 2016 am-- +2 Deg at 1835 meters early in the am.

    July 5, 2016 pm

    Tuesday saw 4.1 mm of rain at 660 meters.

    Much nicer South of Squamish on Tuesday.

    Wednesday July 6, 2016 am--Nice above the thick stratus layer.

    July 6, 2016--pm  Eventually the layer lifted and dissipated

    Thursday July 7, 2016

    Clouds were in and out in the upper elevations.

    Still lots of snow in the alpine compared to the last few July's.


    Image from Thursday afternoon--July 7. 2016

    Friday--July 8, 2016--Another cloudy moist day--6.7 mm of rain recorded at 660 meters.

    Satellite image from early morning-- July 8, 2016

    Cut banks still fairly high for July 8Th.

    Saturday July 9, 2016--Wet and only +1 Deg at 07:30 Hrs.

    Satellite image-Same time frame as above picture.

    Good day for Kayaking.

    Saturday evening with some breaks in the cloud. 3.2 mm of rain recorded at 660 meters on Sat.

    Sunday July 10, 2016--Nice to see the sun.

    Satellite image from Sunday morning 10:00 Hrs.

    Awesome Sunday morning.

    A few more clouds around Sunday afternoon.

    Last light Sunday evening.

Weather Observations for July 11, 2016: taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters     +3, Winds were 10-15 KPH S --Horstman Hut
1860 meters     +6, Winds were   5-10 KPH S --Rendevous
1550 meters     +7, RH 93%-- Catskinner

  660 meters    +13, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +21.4. 0.0 mm of Precip recorded yest

    As of 06:30 Hrs this am we have a mostly overcast sky with variable visibility.

For the forecast, unsettled weather for today as a dirty ridge exits the area with the chance of some light rain showers in the mix. The Southerly flow will switch to Northerly flow aloft as the next low pressure out of the Gulf of Alaska works its way down the coast. Unsettled conditions will prevail for the week with cooler temperatures expected, as a series of cold upper lows move down the coast. Tuesday is looking mostly cloudy, drier on Wednesday and Thursday with some sun in the forecast. Not great confidence in the medium range models but it certainly looks like the low pressure will continue to bring unseasonably cooler temps with some showers during the later part of the week. Friday may be an interesting day. Wish I had a better news.

    Unsettled today, mostly cloudy with some rain showers.

    Mostly cloudy for Tuesday.

    Wednesday may see a very weak ridge bring some drier conditions.

    Thursday may have some potential to be a nice day.

    Unsettled again for Friday.

    Unsettled for Saturday.

    Unsettled for Sunday.




ARTICLES:

German tourist injured in an avalanche on Mount Elbrus evacuated: Russia

Avalanche in Switzerland injures 5 Hikers: Appenzell

US Avalanche Fatality trend Flatlines for 22 Seasons: Backcountry Magazine

Avalanche Risk held to be an Inherit Risk of Skiing: McDivitt Law Firm

Valentin Delluc starts an avalanche speed riding: Red Bull

    A bad day for this young seagull. Tuesday July 5, 2016-- Spanish Banks

    July 6, 2016 Wednesday evening--great riding conditions.

    July 7, 2016 Thursday evening, Howe Sound.

 

    Just before sunset, Friday July 8, 2016.

    Cheakamus River Toad. Saturday July 9, 2016

    Saturday on the Cheakamus River.

    Mom and Cub Sunday afternoon on Whistler.

July 4, 2016

    Monday evening, June 27, 2016--Hail rain and lightning-fire started on Whistler Mountain.

    Monday evening-23.3 mm of rain was recorded at 660 meters between 18:30 - 21:30 Hrs. Lucky!!

    Rain and Hail Monday evening.

    Early Tuesday morning, June 28, 2016.

    Became another awesome day.

    Wednesday June 29, 2016--unsettled with some cumulus cloud development.

    Cheakamus Lake Wednesday evening.

    Awesome riding conditions Wednesday.

    Thursday June 30, 2016--Marine stratus layer in the morning.

    Eventually the layer lifted, unsettled Thursday afternoon. This shot from 16:30 Hrs.

    Lots of snow still on the peaks, Duffy Lake road on Thursday.

    Friday morning, July 1, 2016--it did improve as the day progressed to unsettled. 0.5 mm at 660 M.

    Large crowd for the VSO on Friday evening, July 1, 2016. Nice evening with unsettled conditions.

    July 2, 2016--12:00 Hrs--Mostly cloudy with the occasional break.

    Cloudy for most of the day Saturday with a few breaks.

    Sunday July 3, 2016--Mix of sun and cloud --cooler with +4 Deg at 1835 meters at 08:45 Hrs.

    Satellite image from Sunday morning in the same time frame.

    Great day for a hike on Sunday.

    Sunday evening with a few breaks.


Weather Observations for July 4, 2016: taken at 07:00 Hours.

2240 meters        0, Winds were 30-40 KPH S --Horstman Hut
1860 meters      +2, Winds were 10-20 KPH S --Rendevous
1550 meters      +5, RH 76%-- Catskinner

  660 meters    +11, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +18.3. 0.7 mm of Precip recorded yest

    As of 07:00 Hrs this am we have overcast skies with unlimited visibility.


For the forecast; an upper level low in a North-Northwest flow aloft will bring mostly overcast skies for today into Tuesday. Expect showers with periods of light rain until Wednesday with the odd break.  A weak ridge may bring unsettled drier conditions to the area on Wednesday. A stronger upper level low will move through the area Thursday into next weekend with light rain expected and cooler temperatures. Looking back at the past 2 summers with the persistent ridge this reminds me of summers past where we have a series of troughs for most of the summer with moist cool conditions. Hope this pattern eventually changes. Juneuary into July is just not nice!! Good for the forests!!

    Low to the Northeast will sag Southward today.

    A series of upper lows will bring cool unsettled weather to the area this week.

    Northwest flow for today with some rain showers.

    Light rain showers again for Tuesday, with some breaks in the afternoon.

    Some breaks for Wednesday as a weak high tries to build.

    Possibly some breaks on Thursday, but the low to the North may change that outcome.



ARTICLES:

Crews battle fires from Monday nights lightning storm: Pique

What it feels like in the jaws of an avalanche: The Beast Born of Snow

Spearhead Hut System: CBC News

Avalanche Rover: Mechtronics Project

Climate change causing oceanic boundary currents to intensify and shift poleward: AGU

The Biogeography of Red Snow Microbiomes: Melting Glaciers

Winter weather tools for South America: BCA

Last weeks Backcountry news: June 27-July 3, 2016

    Fire on Whistler Mountain Monday June 27, 2016--too close for comfort--Corbin Thomas Photo

    Hail Monday night was intense.

    Awesome day on Tuesday.

    Cheakamus Lake Wednesday.

    Still snow at tree line!!

    Joffre Group Thursday.

    Not looking very good Friday morning. It did improve!!

    Saturday was also mostly cloudy.

                             Sunday hike to Place Creek Falls.