April 15, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Locally, some Sz 1's with Sc on steep lee terrain, mostly 10-20 cm with pockets up to 40 cm.


    YESTERDAY:

    Some broken cloud early Friday morning April 14, 2017.

    Winter snow conditions at 2240 meters.

    Overcast later in the morning.

    Snow showers, 2cm recorded at 1550 meters from 06:00 Hrs to 14:00 Hrs.

    Lots of events on the mountain yesterday.

    Friday morning.

    Got brighter at around 14:00 Hrs.

    Overcast with periods of better light.

    Valley cloud did move around with periods of poor visibility.

    Some holes later in the day.

Weather Observations for April 15, 2017 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters      -7, Winds were 20-30 KPH S--Horstman Hut 
2180 meters      -7, Winds were 25-30 KPH S--Whistler Peak
1860 meters      -5, Winds were 10-20 KPH S--Rendevous
1835 meters      -5, Winds were 15-30 KPH S--Roundhouse
1650 meters      -4, 4 cm of new snow, 4 cm in 24 hrs, 363 cm Base, RH 91%  --Pig Alley
1550 meters      -4, 3 cm of new snow, 5 cm in 24 hrs, 268 cm Base, RH 95%  --Catskinner 

  660 meters     +1, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +8.4, 1.8 mm of Precip recorded yest

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

FORECAST:

A weakening low pressure system off the coast continues to send moist frontal bands our way in a Southwesterly flow aloft. The weak upper level ridge will eventually bring unsettled conditions to the area later in the day. Overcast skies with periods of light precipitaion will be around for most of the day with the FL rising to 1400 meters and dropping back to 800 meters this evening. The ridge strengthens on Sunday, but there will be some lingering cloud as well with the FL rising to 1800 meters with daytime warming. A low pressure to the South will bring overcast skies to the area Sunday night with a series of frontal bands heading our way for next week. It truly is the winter that keeps on giving!!
Guesstimates: 2-4 cm by Sunday morning, 0 cm for Monday morning, 5-10 cm for Tuesday morning, 8-12 cm for Wednesday morning, 8-12 cm for Thursdasy morning.

   GOES IR image from this am.

   Overcast with periodic precipitation, improving later in the day.

    High pressure builds for Sunday with some lingering cloud.

   More precipitaion Monday into Tuesday.

   OBSERVATIONS & INFORMATION:

    Alpine terrain was the place to be on Friday.

    Event staff had a big day.

   Slush Cup Lower Davies Dervish.

   The twisted tea helped getting the participitants ready for the cold water.


ARTICLES:

No avalanche deaths in Utah this season: First time in 26 years

DOT artillery defends Thane Road from Avalanche threats: Alaska

The next generation doesn't want to sled anyway, do they?: Mountain Sledder

April 14, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Locally not much activity, several Sz 1 Sc from steep alpine start zones, some snowballing in PM.


    YESTERDAY:

    Early Thursday morning April 13, 2017.

    Challenging visibility but the snow was awesome.

    Horstman Glacier.

    Cloudy in the am.

    Thursday morning.

    Breaks in the afternoon.

    Blue patches later in the afternoon.

   Nice break around 16:00 Hrs.

    At sweep we had shadows.

Weather Observations for April 14, 2017 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters      -8, Winds were 20-25 KPH SE  --Horstman Hut 
2180 meters      -8, Winds were 20-30 KPH S  --Whistler Peak
1860 meters      -6, Winds were 10-20 KPH SE--Rendevous
1835 meters      -5, Winds were 10-20 KPH SE  --Roundhouse
1650 meters      -4, 4 cm of new snow, 8 cm in 24 hrs, 358 cm Base, RH 86%  --Pig Alley
1550 meters      -4, 3 cm of new snow, 6 cm in 24 hrs, 265 cm Base, RH 89%  --Catskinner 

  660 meters     +1, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +7.1, 7.7 mm of Precip recorded yest

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

FORECAST:

Cool and showery weather will continue today into Saturday as an upper level low continues to spin cloud our way in a Southwest flow aloft. The FL will range from a high of 1400 meters to a low of 800 meters. Chance of seeing some breaks this evening and we may see some unsettled conditions by Saturday afternoon. High pressure for Sunday will bring mostly sunny skies and warm temperatures.
Monday morning will be unsettled with a mix of sun and cloud before a front arrives in the afternoon.
Guesstimates: 1-3 cm by Saturday morning. Trace-2 cm by Sunday morning.

    GOES IR image this am.

    Low continues tom spin cloud our way.

    Cool showery weather for today.

    Overcast with cool showery weather Sunday.

    High pressure strengthens for Sunday.

    Monday morning is looking nice with another weak front approaching later in the day.

    Upper low next week brings cool showery unsettled weather Tuesday into Thursday.



OBSERVATIONS & INFORMATION:

    Wind drift at tree line.

    Nice snow Thursday.

    Snow accumulating on the Horatman Glacier.

    Cornices continue to grow.

    Nester's weather plot, 660 meters.


VIDEO FRIDAYS:


Physics classes would have helped: Rock Crash

Spring Conditions: Montana

Snowboarder sets off an avalanche: Colorado



ARTICLES:

Avalanche Canada & Rescue Groups combine forces for Backcountry Safety Message: Snowshoeing

Crowd Sourced Snow Observations: Meet Mountain Hub

Gauging snow depth in the Sierras: California

Avalanche report highlights safer-than-average season: Montana

April 13, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    An avalanche on Red Mountain in Snoqualmie Pass has killed a ski tourer. Article below. Net Pic

    Locally, several Sz 1 ssl pockets in lee alpine and at treeline. Sc Na 10-20 cm 1F-4F, yesterday.


    YESTERDAY:

    Overcast and snowing very lightly early Wednesday morning, April 12, 2017.

    Conditions improved with the new snow.

    Wednesday Morning.

    Light snow and light winds yesterday morning.

    Snowing at 11:00 hrs, 10 cm recorded from 06:00hrs to 14:00 hrs at 1550 meters yesterday.

    Big Picture Wednesday Afternoon.

    Still some big snow pillows around.

    It did brighten up for a while at around 16:30 Hrs.

Weather Observations for April 13, 2017 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters      -4, Winds were 25-50 KPH SE  --Horstman Hut 
2180 meters      -4, Winds were 25-30 KPH SE  --Whistler Peak
1860 meters      -2, Winds were 10-25 KPH ESE--Rendevous
1835 meters      -2, Winds were 15-20 KPH SE  --Roundhouse
1650 meters      -1, 3 cm of new snow, 15 cm in 24 hrs, 358 cm Base, RH 96%  --Pig Alley
1550 meters      -1, 3 cm of new snow, 13 cm in 24 hrs, 264 cm Base, RH 98%  --Catskinner 

  660 meters     +3, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +5.0, ? mm of Precip recorded yest

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


FORECAST:

The persistent upper level trough continues to send frontal bands our way in a Southerly flow aloft.
Expect moderate precipitation amounts early this morning easing to light with the FL topping out at around 1500 meters. The FL should drop to 800 meters by tonight. Friday will see overcast conditions but a relatively dry day with some intermittent light precipitation, with a FL range from 1300 meters to 900 meters. Saturday at this time is looking unsettled as a weak ridge of high pressure begins to build in the area. Sunday will be the nicest day with the ridge building and some lingering cloud. The ridge will move out by Monday afternoon with increasing clouds as an upper trough settles in offshore.
Guesstimates: 10-15 cm by Friday morning, 2-4 cm by Saturday morning, trace-2 cm by Sunday morning.

    GOES IR image from this am.

    Overcast and moist for today.

    Flow for today, will be predominately Southerly.

    Low moves to the North with overcast conditions and light precip for Friday.

   Unsettled for Saturday with a mix of sun and cloud. Ridge has some influence later in the day.

   High pressure strengthens for Sunday.

    An upper trough will linger off shore next week for cool and showery weather.


    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

   Obscured visibility in Blackcomb Glacier yesterday afternoon. Good place to get vertigo.

    Blackcomb Glacier Creek.

   Ice fall above the Rescue Road on Blackcomb.

    Ice formation in Rendevous window.

    Cornices are still growing and are very fragile.                                                           Brent Phillips Pic



ARTICLES:

Backcountry skier dies in an avalanche on Red Mountain, Snoqualmie Pass: Washington State

Kye Petersen on Tantalus: Powder Canada

Red Mountain Pass to close Thursday for Howitzer testing: Colorado

Northwest Avalanche Accident Summaries: NAC

Snowpck changes signal potential danger: Pique