January 19, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    An avalanche has hit a hotel with at least 30 people missing in Italy, story in articles below. Net Pic

    Avalanche control produced Sz 1-2 with Xe and Sc up to 70 cm deep yesterday. Sa reported as well

    Snow in the trees below 1000 meters. Early Wednesday morning, January 18, 2017.

    Packin the Pow.

    Large drift at Horstman Hut Wednesday morning.

   There were a  few breaks in the snow fall yesterday.

    Wednesday morning

    Front moving through quickly. Wednesday Afternoon.

    At sweep it was still snowing below 1000 meters.


Weather Observations for January 19, 2017: taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters   -5, Winds were 35-45 KPH S   --Horstman Hut 
2180 meters   -5, Winds were 30-50 KPH S   --Whistler Peak
1860 meters   -3, Winds were 20-35 KPH SE--Rendevous
1835 meters   -3, Winds were 15-25 KPH SE--Roundhouse
1650 meters   -2,  23 cm of new snow, 37 cm in 24 hrs, 240 cm Base, RH 98%  --Pig Alley
1550 meters   -2,  23 cm of new snow, 36 cm in 24 hrs, 140 cm Base, RH 98%  --Catskinner 

  660 meters    0, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +2.1, 12.3 mm of Precip recorded yest

    As of 07:00 Hrs this am we have overcast skies, limited visibility and it is snowing.


FORECAST:

A broad upper level trough will bring light/moderate snow to the area today in a Southwest flow aloft. The FL should hover around 1100 meters with moderate alpine winds. Friday at this time is looking unsettled with some isolated flurries and the Fl fluctuating between 600-1000 meters. Saturday and Sunday will be overcast with some periodic light snow and the FL ranging from 1000 meters on Saturday to as low as surface on Sunday. A ridge builds for early next week with dry unsettled weather for Monday with sunny skies forecasted for Tuesday.
Guesstimates: 15-25 cm by Friday morning, 1-3 cm by Saturday morning, 3-5 cm by Sunday morning, 4-8 cm by Monday morning.

   GOES IR image for this am.

    Flow for today.

    Impulses of light/moderate snow again for today.

    Unsettled Friday, with a couple of weak frontal bands for Saturday and Sunday.

    Not much in the way of snowfall for the weekend.

    A series of lows developing off the coast.

    Dries out Monday into Tuesday.





             OBSERVATIONS:

             CBC Trees    From Toby Salin

               Lots of this action in the trees. pretty slow moving but could mess somebody up into a tree well.

    Lots of snow at 1860 meters.

   A lull in the storm Wednesday afternoon.

    Amazing what the wind can create.

   Lots of great skiing yesterday.

   Snowed snow gun.

ARTICLES:

An avalanche has buried a hotel with at least 30 people missing: Italy

Many people found dead in Italian hotel hit by quake induced avalanche: Farindola, Italy

What role should airbags play in Avalanche Safety: Whistler Question

Avalanche Awareness Days on Blackcomb: January 21-22, 2017

Avalanche Assessments from around the U.S. Week of January 15, 2017

January 18, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Explosives stain from control work on JC Wall-Blackcomb in the morning.

   Limited observations yesterday, several Sz 1-1.5 with Xe (explosives), Sc (ski cut). Not much            control work in the alpine.




    YESTERDAY:

    Snow in the trees at 1000 meters Tuesday morning, January 17, 2017. FL fluctuated thru the day.

    Snowing and blowing in the am, snow stuck to the Rendevous Restraunt.

    Moderate snowfall at times in the morning. 7 cm recorded from 06:30 to 14:30 at 1550 meters.

    More snow falling in the upper elevations.

    Precip and winds eased for a while during the afternoon.

    Wet snow in the valley just after sunset.

    Tuesday morning.

    Big picture yesterday at noon looked impressive.



Weather Observations for January 18, 2017: taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters   -3, Winds were 40-60 KPH S   --Horstman Hut 
2180 meters   -2, Winds were 35-55 KPH S   --Whistler Peak
1860 meters   -1, Winds were 30-50 KPH SE --Rendevous
1835 meters   -1, Winds were 40-60 KPH SE--Roundhouse
1650 meters    0,  30 cm of new snow, 39 cm in 24 hrs, 214 cm Base, RH 100%  --Pig Alley
1550 meters    0,  26 cm of new snow, 31 cm in 24 hrs, 1135 cm Base, RH 100%  --Catskinner 

  660 meters    0, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +0.8, 52.9 mm of Precip recorded yest

    As of 07:00 Hrs we have overcast skies, variable visibility and it is snowing less than 1 cm per hour.



FORECAST:

A  warm front will continue to push through today with wet, warm, and windy weather in a Southwesterly flow aloft. The Mango Express will become more of a Pineapple Express as most of the moisture will be drawn from the Hawaiian Island's. The freezing level is sitting around 1700 meters and will slowly drop today to about 1200 meters by tonight. The jet stream will shift south at sometime Wednesday/ Thursday and the front will move Northeast with a cool upper trough following in its wake. Thursday should see overcast skies and light snowfall with a FL hovering in the 1000 meter range.  By Friday we could see an unsettled day before another series of cool Pacific Fronts bring snow and seasonable temperatures to the zone for the weekend. Guesstimates: 20-30 cm by Thursday morning in the alpine, 8-12 cm by Friday morning, Trace to 2 cm by Saturday morning.

    GOES IR image from this morning.

   Warm front for today, flow will likely switch to Southerly.

    Cool upper level trough for Thursday.

   Cool upper level trough will bring light snow Saturday into Sunday with moderate snowfall Sun night.


OBSERVATIONS:

    Shut out for the alpine yesterday. Crystal Chair did open in the afternoon.

    Challenging visibility at times.

    By the afternoon the tree skiing was quite nice.

    In the valley--Water Water everywhere.



ARTICLES:

Avalanche Warning issued for the Sea to Sky Corridor: Avalanche Canada

Go at your own risk: Castanet

Steamboat-area avalanche injures Search & Rescue volunteer during mission: Colorado

How to survive an avalanche: Outdoor Life

Whistler Avalanche Video goes Viral: Avalanche Canada

An open apology from Aspen Highlands rope ducker: Colorado

Interstate 90 over Snoqualmie Pass closed due to numerous avalanches: Stand-By

January 17, 2017

AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

   A photographer was killed by an avalanche on an ice climbing shoot in Austria, story in articles.

     Dutch skier has been killed in an avalanche in Zurs am Arlberg, Austria-story below.      Net Pic

    No avalanches reported locally on Monday.

    YESTERDAY:

    Early Monday morning January 16, 2017.

   Trees in the sub alpine devoid of snow Monday morning, inversion and sun Sunday.

    Ominous funnel formation over Whistler Mountain Monday morning.

    Rain at 1860 meters by 13:00 Hrs. +1 at 1860 meters.

    At times the visibility was challenging.

    Raining hard at Base 2 by 17:30 Hrs.

    Image from Monday morning.


Weather Observations for January 17, 2017: taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters   -2, Winds were 40-70 KPH S-  -Horstman Hut 
2180 meters   -2, Winds were 40-90 KPH S  --Whistler Peak
1860 meters   -1, Winds were 40-60 KPH S  --Rendevous
1835 meters   -1, Winds were 40-60 KPH SE--Roundhouse
1650 meters    0,  8 cm of new snow, 8 cm in 24 hrs, 181 cm Base, RH 100%  --Pig Alley
1550 meters    0,  8 cm of new snow, 8 cm in 24 hrs, 107 cm Base, RH 100%  --Catskinner 

  660 meters    0, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +2.1, 12.3 mm of Precip recorded yest

Catskinner recorded 31mm of precip, Pig Alley recorded 40 mm of precip.

    As of 07:00 hrs this am we have obscured skies limited visibility and it is snowing 1 cm per hr.



FORECAST:

A weakening front for this morning in a Southwesterly flow will bring light/moderate snow fall to the area into this afternoon. A stronger frontal band will bring heavier precipitation to the area tonight into Wednesday. The freezing level has been difficult to forecast but hopefully it tops out at around 1900 meters by tomorrow morning, with a slow decline to about 1300 meters by Wednesday evening.It may drop to 1000 meters this evening.  A cool upper trough will bring showery weather to the area Wednesday night into Thursday with some light snowfall and a FL dropping to around 1000 meters. Friday at this time is looking unsettled with a mix of sun and cloud associated with a dry air mass. A broad upper trough will send several frontal bands our way for Saturday into Sunday with cooler temperatures as the jet stream dips South.
Guesstimates: 30-40 cm by Wednesday morning, 20-30 cm by Thursday morning, 5-10 cm by Friday morning, trace-2 cm by Saturday morning

    IR image from this am.

    A weakening front this morning, ramping back up again tonight.

    The Mango Express.

    Frontal band continues into Wednesday.

   Moderate/heavy precipitation and strong winds, for Wednesday..

    Cooler frontal band for Thursday.


   OBSERVATIONS & INFORMATION:

                Avalanche control on the Duffy Lake Road today, click for details: Highway Closure

   Funnel cloud development over Whistler Mountain. Have only seen this once before during the winter.

    Touring up the rescue road.

    Martin Luther King day on Monday.

   Grouse hanging out in the Crystal Zone.

    Saw 3 grouse in the Crystal Zone on Monday Morning.


ARTICLES:

Dutch skier killed in an avalanche in Zurs am Arlberg: Austria

Rescue Dog locates Austrian Skier buried under an avalanche: Tyrol Area

38 year old photogrpher killed in avalanche on a Ice Climbing Shoot: Vorarlberg, Austria

Is Avalanche Technology Making the Backcountry more Dangerous: The Inertia

A look at the latest avalanche safety products: Mountain Sledder

This weeks weather and avalanche danger risk: Weather Channel

Too much snow shuts down some US West Coast Resorts: High Avalanche Danger

Revelstoke avalanche know how, going global: Revelstoke Mountaineer

Snowmobiler rescued from dangerous avalanche terrain: Clearwater, B.C.