April 30, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    No new local avalanche activity reported yesterday.



    YESTERDAY:

    Spring conditions in the valley, Saturday April 29, 2017.

    Light snow showers by 10:00 Hrs.

    There were some nasty looking clouds heading mid morning.

    Snowing hard at noon.

    Saturday nmorning.

    Rain in the valley.

    But it was snowing below 900 meters in the afternoon.

    Big picture Saturday afternoon.

    Into the abyss, very difficult visibility at times yesterday at mid mountain.

   Snowing at sweep.


Weather Observations for April 30, 2017 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters      -7, Winds were  20-30 KPH S--Horstman Hut 
1860 meters      -5, Winds were  15-20 KPH S  --Rendevous
1550 meters      -3, 2 cm of new snow, 4 cm in 24 hrs, 253 cm Base, RH 96%  --Catskinner 

  660 meters     +3, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +7.4, 2.9 mm of Precip recorded yest

    As of 06:45 hrs this am we have mostly overcast skies with a few holes and unlimited visibitiy.


FORECAST:

Onshore flow will continue to bring scattered showers this morning with a drying trend by this afternoon. We can expect unsettled conditions today in a Westerly flow aloft. The FL will spike at around 1800 meters today, dropping to 1200 meters by tonight. A weak system that is relatively dry will bring overcast conditions for Monday with the FL fluctuating from 1500 to 1700 meters. Tuesday at this time looks dry with unsettled conditons prior to a wet warm front arriving Tuesday night into Wednesday. A short lived ridge is forecasted to build for Thursday.
Guesstimates: 1-3 cm by Monday morning, 1-3 cm by Tuesday morning, 4-8 mm of rain by Wednesday morning, 10-20 mm of rain by Thursday morning.

   GOES IR image from this am.

   Flow for today into Monday.

   Cloudy this am with breaks later this afternoon..

   Northwesterly to Westerly flow.

   Mostly cloud in Monday but we may se some breaks.

    High pressure for Tuesday with unsettled conditions.

    Warm air on its way Wednesday associated with some rain from the low to the North.

   Moisture Wednesday with a drying trend Thursday.



    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

   Catskinner weather plot is down to 250 cm. 2 cm recorded yeterday afternoon.

    Kids are into the grass skiing.

   The ribbon of snow to the valley should last for a while.

    Still winter conditions in the alpine.


ARTICLES:

Spring Conditions-Scenario 1: Cold & Snowy

Cool your sled in the Springtime: Mountain Sledder

Become a weather activist: Powder Magazine

Our editors produced 32,508 Lbs of Carbon Emissions while skiing this winter: Outside Magazine

April 29, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Old wet snow cycle, no new activity Friday.

    Old activity in Lakeside Bowl.


    YESTERDAY:

    Friday April 28, 2017. More cloud than sun.

    Valley cloud began to lift.

    Awesome morning with a firm melt freeze surface in the morning.

    Friday am.

    When the cloud layer lifted there were periods of bad visibility in the alpine & at tree line.

    Friday afternoon.

    ID High cornice is huge.

    16:30Hrs

    Sunset was at 20:26 Hrs.



Weather Observations for April 29, 2017 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters      -7, Winds were 15-25 KPH SE  --Horstman Hut 
1860 meters      -5, Winds were 10-15 KPH ESE--Rendevous
1550 meters      -3, 0 cm of new snow, 0 cm in 24 hrs, 247 cm Base, RH 90%  --Catskinner 

  660 meters       0, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +13.1, 0.0 mm of Precip recorded yest

   As of 06:30 Hrs this am we have a frontal band approaching from the Southwest.

   Sunrise was at 05:53 this am. Broken cloud with the approach of a cold front.


FORECAST:

A brief reprieve early this morning before a fast moving cold front pushes through our area by mid morning in a Westerly Flow Aloft. We can expect overcast skies and light/moderate precipitation with the FL starting at just above the valley floor rising to as high as 1500 meters than dropping back down to 1200 meters with the passing of the cold front. Will be difficult to forecast snow amounts through this period!! Scattered showers for Sunday morning with a drying trend by the afternoon in a cool air mass. A weak warm front will bring cloudy conditions and some spotty light precipitation for Monday. The FL will likely rise to about 1800 meters on Tuesday. Some uncertainty into mid week but it does look warm, with the FL rising well above the local peaks.
Guesstimates: 10-15 cm by Sunday morning, 2-6 cm by Monday morning, 1-3 cm by Tuesday morning,.
Rain at all elevations beyond Tuesday.

   GOES IR image from this am.

    Early this am.

   Flow for today.

   Looks wet by noon.

   Saturday into Sunday.

    Sunday morning.

    Unsettled by Sunday afternoon.

   Some lingering moisture on Monday.

   Hopefully we will see a high pressure by mid week.


    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

   Snow line has changed dramatically in the past 2 Weeks.

   Cornices will become fragile with the warmer temperatures.

    Winter snow on the upper North faces.


ARTICLES:

An Arc Gis-Geo-Morphological approach for snow Avalanche Zoning: Bergmo

Montana's Avalanche problems: Flathead Avalanche Center

Avalanche footage above the Ski Resort in Terskol: Russia

April 28, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Helicopter gives a perspective of how large these avalanche paths are.

    No new avalanche activity noted on Currie yesterday.



    YESTERDAY:

    Thursday morning April 27, 2017.

    Unsettled weather Thursday.

    Mount Currie.

    Showers passing by during the day.

    Great cloud development during the afternoon.

    Sunset Thursday evening.


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

2240 meters      -7, Winds were   5-10 KPH ESE--Horstman Hut 
1860 meters      -5, Winds were 10-15 KPH NE  --Rendevous
1550 meters      -4, 0 cm of new snow, 0 cm in 24 hrs, 250 cm Base, RH 94%  --Catskinner 

  660 meters      -1, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +11.2, 0.0 mm of Precip recorded yest

   Early Friday morning, sunrise was officially at 05:53 Hrs today.


FORECAST:

High pressure will bring mostly sunny skies to the area today in a Northerly flow aloft. The FL should
rise to around 1700 meters dropping back down to 1200 meters tonight. A fast moving frontal band will move through the area Saturday into Sunday. The FL will hover in the 1500 meter range. Some shower activity is expected Sunday morning before another weak high pressure system brings unsettled weather Sunday afternoon, with another weak frontal band for Monday. There are some differences in the models for what will happen next week, more on that later.
Guesstimates: 0 cm by Saturday morning, 5-8 cm for Sunday morning, 1-4 cm for Monday morning, trace-2 cm for Tuesday morning.

    GOES IR image from this am.

    High pressure for today with a front moving in Saturday morning.

    Northerly flow aloft for today.

    Frontal wave for Saturday into Sunday.

   Precipitation moves through Saturday afternoon into Sunday morning..

   Unsettled Sunday afternoon.

OBSERVATIONS & INFORMATION:

   Never get tired at looking at Mt Currie.

    Boats are out on Green Lake.

    Greening up in Pemberton.

   Joffre Group.

VIDEO FRIDAY:

Wet Avalanche in the Kackar Mountains: Turkey

Huge Wet Snow Avalanche: British Columbia

Heli-Skiing & Heli-Boarding Paradise: Kamchatka


ARTICLES:

The Vanishing glaciers of the Pacific Northwest: Mountain of Tears

Man uses kite and snowboard to Ascend Mount St Helen's: In 35 Minutes

Six investigated for manslaughter in Deadly Italian Avalanche: Milan