March 28, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Avalanche survivor near Terrace owes his life to rescuers, story in article section.

    Update on Nasu Onsen Resort Avalanche in Japan that killed 8. Story in article section.      Net Pic

    Avalanche control yesterday produced a few Sz 1 ssl Sc Xe, Na Sz 1's in aft with solar warming.

    YESTERDAY:

    Early Monday morning, March 27, 2017. A few sucker holes drifted through the valley.

    Fresh snow, 6 cm overnight 9cm in 24 hours at 1550 meters.

    Dust on cord to the valley.

    Snow flurries in the morning.

    Monday morning.

    Eventually became overcast with light snow.

    Visibility bacame an issue eventually.

    Big picture Monday Afternoon.

    Thick upper cloud layer.

    Snow surface conditions improved as the day progressed.


FORECAST:

A warm front will bring light/moderate precipitation and moderate SW winds to the area in a Westerly-Southwesterly flow aloft. The FL will hover in the 1400 meter range and may dip down to 1200 meters tonight. Another frontal band for Wednesday with similar precipitation and freezing levels. An upper trough will move through on Thursday with unsettled weather and an upper ridge will begin to build off the coast. Friday will see a mix of mostly sun and some cloud before a weak front moves into the area for Saturday, with warmer temperatures into Sunday.
Guesstimates: 12-18 cm by Wednesday morning, 12-18 cm by Thursday morning, 1-3 cm by Friday morning.

    GOES IR this am.

    Warm front pushing through today.

    Warm front today with light/moderate precipitation.

    Similar day on Wednesday.

      Southerly flow for Wednesday.

    Unsettled Thursday with a ridge building off the coast.

    Mostly sunny on Friday with some residual cloud.

    Weak front for Saturday.

    Sunday could go either way.


Weather Observations for March 28, 2017: taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters      -6, Winds were 40-65 KPH S  --Horstman Hut 
2180 meters      -6, Winds were 45-75 KPH S  --Whistler Peak
1860 meters      -4, Winds were 30-45 KPH SE--Rendevous
1835 meters      -4, Winds were 20-45 KPH SE--Roundhouse
1650 meters      -3, 8 cm of new snow, 10 cm in 24 hrs, 336 cm Base, RH 92%  --Pig Alley
1550 meters      -3, 8 cm of new snow, 10 cm in 24 hrs, 247 cm Base, RH 97 % --Catskinner 

  660 meters     +1, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +6.2, 2.0 mm of Precip recorded yest

     As of 07:00 Hrs this am we have obscured skies, limited visibility and snowing 1 cm per hour.



INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Decker avalanche this past weekend, comments below.                                    Bruce Allen Image                    

"Pictured from upper left to lower right, a size 2.5 avalanche on a 40-45° slope running 200m off a 100ft bergshrund. Soft slab on a hard wind crust was kicked off from a shallow point in the snow pack; the more visible crown was a meter deep on the lee aspect and ran 100m on both sides. We stepped on a slope we couldn't see in whiteout conditions and we're lucky no one went for a ride."

From the Terrace Avalanche Involvement:
SAR call out Sunday. Group of 5 sledders heard report of fresh deposit with solo rider just obs travelling through area. Sz 3.0 avalanche ending in deep gulley feature. Experienced party initiated search. No transceiver signal, no surface clues. No last seen point. First probe strike hit victim. Victim was buried 200cm deep, on his back, cyanotic. Removed snow plug, victim coughed and came to. Recovered fully buried damaged sled. Victim drove sled out. Broken tooth and lost helmet. Victim was not wearing a transceiver. Ma Sz 3 near Terrace.

    Low valley cloud did lift in the morning.

    Melt freeze just below the tree line.

    The winter that just keeps on giving!!


ARTICLES:

Lone BC snowmobiler saved from avalanche: Terrace

Japan Avalanche kills seven students and a teacher: Nasu Onsen Resort

Police probing negligence in avalanche that killed 8: Japan

Colorado Backcountry skiers rely on Avalanche Forecasters Reports: CAIC

Mark McMorris injured in Whistler Backcountry: CBC News

Boston Doctors killed in Lake Louise Avalanche: Calgary Sun

March 27, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    An avalanche in Japan has killed 7 students and 1 teacher, story in article section.              Net Pic

    Locally, a few Sz 1 ssl in lee and cross loaded steep alpine terrain, reported yesterday. No AC.


   YESTERDAY:

    Snow line was down to 900 meters Sunday March 26, 2017.

    Snow in the valley is melting quickly.

    Overcast for most of the day.

    Sunday morning. Most of the precip went South!

    Visibility was variable in the alpine most of the day.

    At times obscured.

    Fire and Ice show Sunday evening.


Weather Observations for March 27, 2017: taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters      -3, Winds were 20-30 KPH SE --Horstman Hut 
2180 meters      -6, Winds were 20-40 KPH S  --Whistler Peak
1860 meters      -4, Winds were 10-20 KPH SE--Rendevous
1835 meters      -4, Winds were   5-15 KPH SE--Roundhouse
1650 meters      -2, 5 cm of new snow, 7 cm in 24 hrs, 330 cm Base, RH 88%  --Pig Alley
1550 meters      -2, 6 cm of new snow, 9 cm in 24 hrs, 246 cm Base, RH 98 %  --Catskinner 

  660 meters       0, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +5.0, 1.8 mm of Precip recorded yest

   As of 07:00 Hrs we have broken cloud, unlimited visibility and it is snowing lightly.

FORECAST:

An upper level trough will bring overcast skies with very light precipitation to the area today in a Southwest flow aloft. The FL will rise to around 1500 meters this afternoon and drop back down to 1000 meters tonight. A warm front is forecasted for Tuesday with light/moderate precipitation and the FL hovering in the 1400 meter range. A stronger frontal band is expected Wednesday with the FL maxing out at around 1500 meters. A weak upper trough and surface high will bring unsettled weather to the area Thursday and Friday.
Guesstimates: 4-8 cm by Tuesday morning, 12-16cm by Wednesday morning, 15-25 cm by Thursday morning.

    GOES IR image this am.

                Upper level trough with very light prcip.

    Slightly stronger front Tuesday.

    Low will bring the most precipitation for this week, on Wednesday.

    Surface high with unsettled weather Thursday into Friday.



INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Container on Ptarmigan.

    Pig Alley weather plot.

    Snowing in the alpine at 15:30 hours.


ARTICLES:

Seven school children and one teacher feared dead in an avalanche: Japan

Peak Snowpack Time: Cliff Mass Weather Blog

Good terrain choice on a deep & touchy weekend: Mountain Sledder

Aspen backcontry skier shares his avalanche experience: Colorado

March 26, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Looks like a recent avalanche on Mount Currie.

          A different perspective from the Sa on the back side of Husume, March 24, 2017. Jerome Pic

    Locally, avalanche control produced mostly Sz 1 but a couple of Sz 2 Sc Xe, yesterday.

   YESTERDAY:

    Power flurries in the valley Saturday morning March 25, 2017.

    Later in the morning.

    Mid morning between power flurries.

    Snowing and obscured skies at 2180 meters Saturday morning.

    08:45 Saturday morning.

    Decent light with some new snow.

    Patches of blue in Pemberton.

    Big Picture Saturday Afternoon.

    16:30 Hours Saturday.

    Unsettled later in the day.


Weather Observations for March 26, 2017: taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters      -6, Winds were 20-40 KPH SE  --Horstman Hut 
2180 meters      -8, Winds were 30-50 KPH SE  --Whistler Peak
1860 meters      -7, Winds were 10-15 KPH SE  --Rendevous
1835 meters      -6, Winds were 15-30 KPH ESE--Roundhouse
1650 meters      -5, 0 cm of new snow, 4 cm in 24 hrs, 327 cm Base, RH 85%  --Pig Alley
1550 meters      -5, 0 cm of new snow, 1 cm in 24 hrs, 240 cm Base, RH 90 %  --Catskinner 

  660 meters      -1, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +4.6, 3.8 mm of Precip recorded yest

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


FORECAST:

A low pressure system will spread cloud into the area with a moist frontal band bringing very light intermittent precipitation into the area later in the am in a Westerly flow aloft. The FL will spike at about 1200 meters dropping to 1000 meters tonight with the precipitation becoming moderate into Monday morning. Light precipitation with the FL spiking to 1400 meters is forecasted for Monday. Tuesday will see another weak front move through with light precipitation. Another frontal band for Wednesday with light/moderate precipitation. A high pressure may influence the area by Thursday with unsettled weather expected into Friday.
Guesstimates: 15-20 cm by Monday morning, 5-10cm by Tuesday morning, 10-15 cm by Wednesday morning,15-20 cm by Thursday morning.

    GOES IR image for this am.

    Looking cloudy!!

    Westerly to Southwesterly flow for today into Monday.

   Front should arrive around 12:00 Hrs.

    Series of lows will pass through our zone next week.

    Weak front for Tuesday.

    Looks like a nice front for Tuesday night into Wednesday,


OBSERVATIONS & INFORMATION:

   Saturday morning.

   Saturday afternoon.

   Overcast for most of the day.


ARTICLES:

Canada's earliest recorded avalanche happened in Labrador: CBC News

Survivors reflect on huge Avalanche: Salt Lake City

Highway 20 may remain closed until June: Washington State

Mountain rescuers must be tough to pass avalanche training: Germany

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