May 17, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Snowballing on solar exposed slopes once the sun came out yesterday.

   Alpine on Blackcomb was closed at 14:00 hrs.



    YESTERDAY:

   11:00 Hrs, unsettled but mostly cloudy in the morning.

    12:00 Hrs a few breaks but still mostly cloudy.

    Tuesday Morning.

    By mid afternoon there were some holes over the valley.

    Fresh snow on the glacier.

    Sunny breaks in the afternoon.

    Tuesday Afternoon.

    Around 15:30 Hrs more blue but that did not last long.

    Cumulus Nimbus clouds.

    A very light rain shower, between 16:45 & 17:00 Hrs.

    Dark moisture laden clouds at 19:00 Hrs.


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

2240 meters      -3, Winds were 20-35 KPH ESE--Horstman Hut 
1860 meters     +1, Winds were 20-30 KPH NNE--Rendevous
1550 meters     +1, 0 cm of new snow, 0 cm in 24 hrs, 215 cm Base, RH 92%  --Catskinner 

  660 meters     +6, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +12.5, 0.7 mm of Precip recorded yest

Catskinner weather plot (1550 meters) received 0.2 mm from 16:45-17:00 Hrs yesterday.

   As of 07:00 Hrs this am we have scattered cloud and unlimited visibility.


FORECAST:

An offshore upper level ridge will build today with warming temperatures in a Northerly flow aloft.
There is a significant stratus layer mid mountain which may lift as the morning progresses. The layer is moist so cannot rule out the chance of some light intermittent showers this afternoon. The FL will rise to 2400+ meters today.  The low to our North will send some cloud our way Thursday as the ridge continues to push inland, strengthening on Friday. Lingering cloud on Saturday for unsettled conditions before the ridge strengthens further for sunny conditions for Sunday and Monday.
Guesstimates: trace-1 mm by Thursday morning, trace-2 mm by Friday morning.

    GOES IR image from this am.

                  Ridge builds today with a mid stratus layer which may lift later this am.

    Flow for today.

    Moisture is South of our zone.

    High builds today, low to the North will likely send cloud our way at times over the next few days.

    Still a chance of some cloud for Thursday.

    Omega block into Wednesday.




OBSERVATIONS & INFORMATION:

    Alpine was closed at 14:00 Hrs with daytime warming and snowballing.

    Leaves are coming out on the trees.

    Approaching moisture from the south.

    Looking north later in the day.


ARTICLES:

Adding LVM to Airbag Battery Pack: WildSnow ModShop

Hurley Opening update: I survived the Hurley

La Grande Ride--April Showers bring may Flurries: Oregon

Why are St Bernard's always depicted with barrels around their necks: Mental Floss

May 16, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Cornice control on chainsaw ridge yesterday.

    Debris from Sunset Cornice Blast.


    YESTERDAY:

    Obscured mid mountain Monday morning May 15, 2016.

    Snowing lightly at 1860 meters 11:30 Hours.

    At times you could see across the valley.

    07:15 Hrs Monday morning.

    Just above the mid layer cloud.

    Big picture Monday afternoon.

    Light snow at 16:30 Hours.

    17:30 hours with drier conditions.



Weather Observations for May 16, 2017 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters      -6, Winds were 10-25 KPH E--Horstman Hut 
1860 meters      -3, Winds were     0-5 KPH S--Rendevous
1550 meters      -2, 2 cm of new snow, 3 cm in 24 hrs, 221 cm Base, RH 98%  --Catskinner 

  660 meters     +2, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +8.3, 0.9 mm of Precip recorded yest

1.7 mm of precip recorded at 1550 meters over night.

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


FORECAST:

The cold upper level low is moving Southeast into Washington state this morning bringing overcast conditions in a Southwesterly flow aloft. The flow will slowly switch to Northerly later in the day as the ridge begins to slowly move into our zone. For today we can expect overcast skies with the chance of some isolated intermittent showers with the FL rising to 2200 meters by this afternoon, then dropping to  2000 meters this evening. Wednesday will be unsettled with sunny skies in the am with convective cloud development by the afternoon with the slight chance of some showers. The Fl tomorrow will rise to 2300+ meters as we finally get some warm spring weather. Unsettled weather will stick around for a few days as the ridge remains weak, with a little instability giving us cloud development and the chance of isolated showers.  The ridge will strengthen by Saturday with mostly sunny skies. The high pressure appears to stick around into next week for a well deserved break in the lows out of the Gulf of Alaska. The FL is expected to be well above 3000 meters by Monday.

Guesstimates: trace-1 cm in the alpine, 1-2 mm below by Wednesday morning, trace-2 mm by Thursday morning, trace-1 mm by Friday morning.

    GOES IR image for this am.

     Low still affecting us for today.

    Low swings out of our zone by Wednesday. Weak ridging begins.

    Strong upper level low exiting the area.

    High pressure will slowly build into the weekend.

    High will bring weather change by tomorrow morning.

    Looks like an Omega Block (Click for definition) will bring us nice weather into next week.


OBSERVATIONS & INFORMATION:

    Some fresh snow at 1860 meters.

    Flat light for most of the day.

    Evening shift departing!

    Still snow on the lower section of the bike park.


ARTICLES:

Stevens Pass Avalanche Advisory: Northwest Avalanche Center

Western Washington Weather Advisory: More Winter Weather

Arcteryx Voltair 20 Airbag backpack review: Wildsnow.com

National Parks Avalanche Advisory: Spring Conditions

December 2016 Quick Draw Express Lift Incident: Granby Resort Ski Area

May 15, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    No new avalanches were observed yesterday.


    YESTERDAY:

    Nice sky early Sunday morning May 14, 2017.

    Looking towards Mt Currie Sunday morning.

    Less blue as the day went on.

    Sunday morning 07:45 Hrs.

    Some precipitation arrived in the afternoon.

    Snowing on the Spring Parade.

    Big Picture 16:30 Hrs Sunday.

    Still an awesome day.

    A few breaks later in the afternoon.

    You can still see the ribbon of snow to the base of Blackcomb.

   Sunset was at 20:50 hrs on Sunday.


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

2240 meters      -5, Winds were 30-40 KPH SE--Horstman Hut 
1860 meters      -3, Winds were 15-30 KPH SE--Rendevous
1550 meters      -1, 1 cm of new snow, 1 cm in 24 hrs, 220 cm Base, RH 98%  --Catskinner 

  660 meters     +5, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +12.7, 0.0 mm of Precip recorded yest

    As of 07:00 Hrs this am we have overcast skies, variable visibility and it is snowing at 1860 M.



FORECAST:

An upper low out of the Gulf of Alaska will sweep down the coast today with precipitation in a Northwesterly flow aloft, turning Westerly later in the morning. We will see snow in the upper elevations as the FL is at around 1400 meters, it should rise to about 1600 meters than drop back down to 1400 meters tonight. The cold upper level low will move Southeast Tuesday with a warm frontal band pushing into our zone with the FL rising to 2000 meters by mid day. We should see some light snow early Tuesday morning in the upper elevations, turning to rain at around 1600 meters by the afternoon. A drier Northerly flow will develop behind the warm front for some unsettled weather by Tuesday night. A weak upper level ridge will begin to have some influence on Wednesday with unsettled weather associated with convective showers throughout the day and the FL reaching 2200+ meters. This pattern will likely continue into Thursday with the ridge strengthening for Friday into Saturday.
Guesstimates: 10-15 cm in the alpine by Tuesday morning, 5-8 cm in the alpine by Wednesday morning, 2-4 mm of rain in the alpine by Thursday morning. Snow amounts today will depend on how close the frontal band works its way inland.

    GOES IR image from this am.

    Low moving down the coast will bring rain today.

    Flow for today.

     Low moves East on Tuesday

    Monday into Friday, weak ridging by Wednesday.

    Ridge will have some influence by Wednesday.

    OBSERVATIONS & INFORMATION:

    Lower Mountain snow is melting quickly.

    Looking West as the Snow arrives.

    Looking Northwest at the same time.

    Overcast for most of the day.

    Park goers were having a great day.

    Very quiet at the base of the mountain Sunday evening.

    Manicured and natural.

ARTICLES:

Avalanches create new habitat for plants and animals: WSL, Switzerland

Evaluating Avalanche danger in a warming World: Forbes

Saying goodbye to Glaciers: Science Daily

New research sheds insight into Montana's retreating Glaciers: Flathead Becon