April 27, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Locally there is still snowballing with a Na loose wet cycle as it warms up again. Cooler yesterday.

    An avalanche has killed a skier in Austria, story in article section.                                    Net Pic



    YESTERDAY:

    Clouds clung to the mountains on Wednesday April 26, 2017.

    Wednesday Morning

   There were some holes in the afternoon.

    A sucker hole Wednesday afternoon.

    Looking toward Blackcomb late Wednesday afternoon.

    Mid layer cloud at 17:00 Hrs yesterday.


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

2240 meters      -7, Winds were 15-20 KPH S  --Horstman Hut 
1860 meters      -5, Winds were   5-10 KPH SE--Rendevous
1550 meters      -3, 0 cm of new snow, 0 cm in 24 hrs, 252 cm Base, RH 97%  --Catskinner 

  660 meters     +3, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +11.7, 1.4 mm of Precip recorded yest

    As of 07:00 Hrs this am we have broken cloud and variable visibility.

FORECAST:

A weak upper level trough continues to bring scattered showers and unsettled conditions to the Coastal Mountains in a Northwest flow aloft. The jet stream is South of our area sending more moisture into the US Northwest coast. The FL today will fluctuate from around 900 meters this am to 1600 meters by this afternoon.  A ridge of high pressure aloft will build into the area later tonight with drier weather for Friday into Saturday morning. A weak frontal band is forecasted to move onshore for Saturday with light flurries in the morning increasing to light steady snowfall later in the day. Sunday is also looking overcast with light rain as high as 1600 meters.
Guesstimates: trace-2 cm by Friday morning, trace-1 cm by Saturday morning, 6-8 cm by Sunday morning, 2-4 cm by Monday morning.

   GOES IR image from this am.

    Moisture heading to the South of our area.

       Northwesterly flow aloft for today with unsettled conditions.

    Some cloud around this morning, should see some breaks this afternoon.

    High pressure builds for Friday.

   OBSERVATIONS & INFORMATION:

    Cornice drop, photo taken from the Symphony Chair on April 23, 2017.             Cliff Jennings Image

    Still ice on Cheakamus Lake.                                                                             Cliff Jennings Image

    A deserted Whistler.


ARTICLES:

Skier killed in an avalanche in Kegelkoph in Tyrol: Austria

Pieps DSP Pro Ice Avalanche Beacon Review: A Mountain Journey

6 investigated for manslaughter in Italian Hotel avalanche: Milan, Italy

The most celebrated (and deadly) backcountry in Canada: Surviving Rogers Pass

April 26, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Cornice debris in most of the bowls.

    Avalanche control yesterday-cornice blast adding more debris to Blackcomb Bowl.


YESTERDAY:

    First ride up Tuesday April 25, 2017.

    Eventually broke through to the sun.

    Awesome morning above 1500 meters.

    Some spindrift against a blue sky.

    Clouds eventually moved back into the area.

    Tuesday Morning

    Big picture Tuesday Afternoon.

    Mostly cloudy in the afternoon, with challenging visibility at times.


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

2240 meters      -4, Winds were 30-40 KPH S  --Horstman Hut 
1860 meters      -2, Winds were 20-25 KPH SE--Rendevous
1550 meters      -1, 3 cm of new snow, 3 cm in 24 hrs, 255 cm Base, RH 96%  --Catskinner 

  660 meters     +3, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +11.7, 0.3 mm of Precip recorded yest

    As of 07:00 hrs this am we have broken cloud and unlimited visibility.


FORECAST:

An upper trough will move through the South Coast today with overcast showery weather in a Northwesterly flow aloft. The FL will rise to 1700 meters today and drop back down again tonight to 1200 meters. The weakening trough will continue to push through Thursday with mostly overcast skies and some showers with the  FL peaking at 1600 meters. A weak ridge builds Thursday night into Friday with unsettled weather into Saturday morning. Another frontal wave is likely to move onshore for Saturday afternoon into Sunday.
Guesstimates: 5-10 cm by Thursday morning, 3-6 cm by Friday morning, trace to 1 cm by Saturday morning, 5-10 cm by Sunday morning.

    GOES IR image from this am.

    Upper trough for today with overcast skies and showers.

    We may see some breaks with the high being so close.

    Overcast Thursday with some breaks in the mix.

    Unsettled for Friday, as a weak ridge builds.

    Early Saturday looks nice with another frontal band for the afternoon.

    Overcast with showers for Sunday.

    Overcast for Monday.

    Possible high pressure for Tuesday.


    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Birthday Girls.

    Visibility in the lower mountain was good at times.

    Nice shadows Tuesday morning.

    Plume of moisture 2200 km wide heading just South of Southern BC.

      Will certainly be bringing water to the US West Coast.

    Cool clouds in the morning.


ARTICLES

Public Prosecution Services takes over case of Teens killed by Deadly Avalanche: Romania

Spring Forecasting-A Guide: Avalanche Canada

2017 Spring Avalanche Statement: Northwest Avalanche Center

Another river of rain to soak the Pacific Northwest in record setting wet year: Washington State

April 25, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Yesterday AC produced some Size 1 cornice debris slides. Moist snowballing on solar aspects.

    You could see some solar activity on the Tantalus Range yesterday afternoon.


   YESTERDAY:

    Mostly cloudy Monday morning April 24, 2017.

    A few breaks but multiple layers of cloud.

    Image from Monday morning.

    Much nicer in Vancouver yesterday.

    Squamish Monday afternoon.

    More breaks later in the day with some showers.

    There were some dark moisture laden clouds around yesterday at days end.

    Sunset Monday night.

Weather Observations for April 25, 2017 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters      -4, Winds were 15-25 KPH SE --Horstman Hut 
1860 meters      -2, Winds were 10-15 KPH SE --Rendevous
1550 meters       0, trace of new snow, trace in 24 hrs, 254 cm Base, RH 99%  --Catskinner 

  660 meters     +4, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +14.4, 0.8 mm of Precip recorded yest



FORECAST:

An upper trough will bring showers to the area this morning in a Westerly Flow aloft. We may see some breaks this afternoon with more showers by this evening, becoming steadier as the next weak frontal band moves onshore into Wednesday. The FL will spike at around 1700 meters today, dropping to around 1400 meters tonight and hovering in the 1600 meter range for Wednesday. Thursday and Friday are looking unsettled with spring like conditions. Beyond that the models are inconsistent.
Guesstimates: 3-5 cm by Wednesday morning above 1600 meters, 4-8 cm by Thursday morning above 1500 meters, 1-3 cm by Friday morning above 1600 meters.

    GOES IR image from this am.

   Frontal Bands on then move.

    Overcast this am as a weak frontal band is moving onshore.

   Cloudy for Wednesday morning/afternoon, likely some breaks by the evening.

   Unsettled Thursday with a mix of sun and cloud.

   High builds for Friday.

    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

   Awesome colours in the city.

    Porteau Cove.

    Tantalus range yesterday afternoon.

    Late day sun an Mount Currie                                                                                 Debbie Lloyd Image


ARTICLES:

Skier Triggered avalanche at Alta: Utah

Snoqualmie Pass Forecast Discussion: NAC

More information on the avalanche that killed 2 teenagers: Romania