18 Aug 2017

August 18, 2017


    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Avalanche hits truck at Mt Hutt Ski Area, story in article section.                        Hennie Murray Pic


    PAST WEEK:

    Saturday August 12, 2017.  Unsettled most of the day with sunny breaks.

    Sunday afternoon August 13, 2017. Overcast with showers.

    Showers in the afternoon with a high in the valley of +19.9 Deg.

    Monday August 14, 2017.


    Tuesday August 15, 2017.

    Clouds moved in on Tuesday morning.

   Alpine flowers are well worth going up to see!! Cloudy with sunny breaks on Tuesday.

    Wednesday August 16, 2017. More cloud than sun!!

    Mount Davidson Wednesday afternoon.

    Early Thursday morning August 17, 2017.

    High pressure mid Thursday morning.

    Friday morning August 18, 2017. Overcast and looking like there is potential for rain showers.


Weather Observations for August 18, 2017 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters    +6, Winds were 30-35 KPH S  --Horstman Hut 
1860 meters    +8, Winds were 20-30 KPH SE--Rendevous
1550 meters   +11, RH 77%--Catskinner 
  660 meters   +13, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +25.0, 0.0 mm of Precip recorded yest



FORECAST:

The low in the Gulf of Alaska and the high in the Eastern Pacific will bring unsettled weather for a few days in a Westerly flow aloft. An upper level trough and associated cold front to our North will bring mostly cloudy skies for today with the possibility of some isolated showers. Unsettled dry weather over the weekend with a mix of sun and cloud as the ridge has some influence. The ridge looks like it may rebound on Monday into Tuesday with mostly sunny weather. An upper trough is forecasted for Wednesday into Thursday so there is a chance of some precipitation, will update on Monday.

    Image from this am at 07:15 Hrs.

    Friday Morning. May get lucky and most of the precip stays South.

    Different image Friday morning. Isolated showers may hold off until later in the day.



           Flow into mid week.

    Battle of the High and Low.

    Unsettled for Saturday.

    Low may win out on Sunday.

   Ridge pushes North early in the week.

    High looks to win on Monday.

    Low moves down the coast mid week.

MONDAY UPDATE August 21, 2017

High pressure will build today into Tuesday for some nice weather. A weak upper trough will push through Wednesday/Thursday with mostly cloudy weather and the possibility of some showers on Thursday. The ridge is forecasted to rebuild for Friday into the weekend.



    Change to Northwest flow aloft Sunday morning brought clouds into the area.

    High rebuilds Monday. May see some clouds around. Westerly flow.

    Looking good for Tuesday.

    Nice Wednesday morning with increasing clouds as the day progresses.

    Likely some moisture on Thursday.

    High rebounds Friday into Saturday.



    OBSERVATIONS & INFORMATION:

    Awesome day for Crankworx Saturday, high at 660 meters was +19.9 Deg.

    Unsettled in the am with rain showers & overcast conditions in the pm on Sunday.

   1.5 mm recorded at 660 meters on Sunday.

    Stratus layer Monday morning, High of 20.6 Deg in the valley.

    Footings for the new Kees and Claire Hut . Tuesday morning.

    West side of Fissile on Tuesday night.

    Sunset Tuesday night.

    Mostly cloudy on Wednesday.

    Cleared off Wednesday night, High in the valley on Wednesday was +23.1 Deg.

    Dawn Thursday morning, sunrise was at 06:04! +5 Deg at 05:30 Hours.

    Nice light Thursday morning.

    Footings ready for walls!!

    Thursday evening, sunset was at 20:27, we are losing 4 minutes of day light per day.

    Fires are still burning in BC and the Northwest Territories. Luckily the flow is good for Whistler!!


VIDEO FRIDAY:

Avalanche control in the Remarkables: New Zealand

An impressive avalanche captured on film last year: Chile

Top to Bottom-1525 meters (5KFt) Descent: Whistler Bike Park

Jet Powered Wingsuit flight: Jarno Cordia



ARTICLES:

Avalanche buries ute (?truck) at Mt Hutt Ski Area: New Zealand

Skiers pleased; road closed: New Zealand

ENSO diagnostic discussion for August 2017: NOAA

Improving our understanding of El Nino in a warm climate: EOS

Lightning strike kills mountain biker near Telluride: Colorado

July 2017 was hottest on land in recorded history: NOAA

The World is on Fire: Current Wildfires

11 Aug 2017

August 11, 2017


    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Recent avalanche on Annapurna South. Story in article section.                        Emilly Hill Image

    Recent avalanche occurrence on Mt Hotham, story in article section.  Hotham Ski Resort Image

    Mt Hotham slide path.                                                                              Hotham Resort Image


    PAST WEEK:

    Saturday morning August 5, 2017. Smoke continues to obscure the sky.

    Sunday morning August 6, 2017. Not much different than yesterday.

    Just prior to sunset Sunday evening. Air quality was slightly better!!

    Monday morning August 7, 2017.

    Alexander Falls, Monday afternoon.

    Tuesday morning August 8, 2017.

    Wednesday morning August 9, 2017. Sunrise was at 05:53. Sunset 20:42. Mountains were visible.

    Thursday morning August 10, 2017. +17 at 07:00 Hrs. Visibility improved.

    Thursday afternoon, big improvement.

    Friday morning August 11, 2017. Sunrise was at 05:56 Hrs. +14 at 1835 meters.


Weather Observations for August 11, 2017 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters   +13, Winds were 10-15 KPH SE--Horstman Hut 
1860 meters   +14, Winds were 10-20 KPH SE--Rendevous
1550 meters   +14, RH 70%--Catskinner 
  660 meters   +13, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +31.8, 0.0 mm of Precip recorded yest


FORECAST:

Still an upper level ridge in the area this morning but change is in the air, as a South-Southwest flow aloft will begin to change the pattern. The ridge will begin to shift Eastward with an upper trough following in its wake. Dry and warm for today with improving visibility.  This shift will likely slowly begin to clean up the smoke we have been experiencing for the past 11 days. A low to the Northwest will direct an upper trough into our zone for Saturday, with unsettled weather for most of the day with increasing cloud and showers by Saturday night. Light rain and overcast conditions for Sunday as a cold front moves through the area with cooler temperatures.  By Monday we will be in unsettled weather with a cleaner sky. Pattern will remain unsettled for the beginning of next week slowly reverting back to a warm summer ridge by mid week. Will update on Monday as there are some inconsistencies in the model runs..


    Dry and warm today as the ridge migrates East.

    High will shift Eastward today with a Southerly flow aloft.

    Low will send a trough our way Saturday with some welcome precip by late Saturday night.

    Moist on Sunday, cold front pushes through.

    Unsettled on Monday.

    High pressure back by Wednesday/Thursday.


Monday August 14Th update:

Cold front swept through quickly early Sunday morning with unsettled weather in its wake. A weak upper ridge developing off the coast and the low in the Gulf of Alaska will influence our weather for the remainder of the week. The high pressure will win over into Friday with mostly sunny weather and periods of cloud in a predominately Northwest flow aloft. As of now the flow could shift on the weekend with more cloud and cooler temperatures but more on that in Friday's post.

    Cold front quickly moved through on Sunday morning.

    Unsettled today looking nice for tomorrow.

    High rebuilds.

    Looking nice on Friday but models are hinting towards cool moist weather by Saturday?!!

    OBSERVATIONS & INFORMATION:


Reid Madiuk
August 10 at 12:21pm
Spearhead head hut volunteer call out. Matt Gunn Delete if necessary. 

We need a few experienced carpenters/concrete placers to assist next week. We will be pouring 24 cubic meters by helicopter. 

Please PM for details. 
This could turn into full time permanent work for the right candidates. 

Please help spread the word. 

You can email me direct at 
reid@coastessential.com

    Saturday was very smokey, perhaps the worst since it began on Tuesday August 1.

    Sunday morning.

    Dry conditions in the bike park Sunday, max temp in the valley was 31.0 deg.


    Monday afternoon, high of +31.5 Deg. Busy despite the air quality.

    Full moon was on Monday night, referred to as the Sturgeon Moon

    Prepping for Crankworks, High in the valley on Tuesday was +33.1 Deg.

    Tuesday afternoon.

    Smoke on the Water, Howe Sound--Tuesday.

    Wednesday the temperature maxed out at 34.0 Deg.

   Alta Lake Wednesday.

    Thursday morning.  High of +31.8 at 660 m Thursday.

    Flying into Vancouver Thursday afternoon.                                                           Shira Flann Pic


VIDEO FRIDAY:

Snowboarder releases an avalanche: Perisher, Australia

Highest base Jump in South America: Huascaran

Back flip over peloton: Tour de Pologne

Heat Wave VS Glaciers: Europe


ARTICLES:

Avalanche at Mount Hotham: Victoria Alps, Austarlia

Tourists warned to stay clear of remote alpine areas in Southern Australia: Avalanche Threat

South Annapurna Glacier research team captures avalanche on camera: Nepal

Mountain Safety Council warns avalanche risk is high: New Zealand

Man survives collapsing snow bridge in North Shore Mountains: Mitten Couloir

Avalanche Canada seeks new Directors: Powder Canada

Rogers pass 1910 Avalanche survivor: Bill LaChance

El Nino's chances fading further: Possible la Nada for this winter

Lighter electric airbag in the making: Backcountry Skiing Blog

Squaw Valley Ski Resort fined $20,250.00 by CALL/OSHA for Ski Patroller's Death: Snowbrains