December 12, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    No avalanche activity locally to report.

    5 soldiers missing after avalanches hit two army outposts in Northern India. Story in article sec.


    YESTERDAY:

    Blue Bird over Mount Currie.

    High cloud and smoke/pollution to the South yesterday.

    Many ridge lines were stripped of snow a few weeks ago.

    Snow eventually softened up Monday.

    Hard to believe the smoke worked its way up the coast from California.

Weather Observations for December 12, 2017 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2180 meters    -3, Winds were 30-40 KPH SSW--Whistler Peak
1835 meters     0, Winds were 25-35 KPH SSW--Roundhouse
1660 meters     0, 0 cm of new, 0 cm in 24 hrs  Base 136 cm --Pig Alley

  660 meters    -2, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +3.2, 0.0 mm of precip recorded yest

    As of 08:00 hrs this am we have broken cloud and unlimited visibility.

FORECAST:

The strong warm upper level ridge will bring a mix of sun & some cloud to the area today in a Southwesterly flow aloft. The FL has dropped to 2000 meters so it will take a while for the crust to break down today.  The good news is that the ridge will sag on Thursday with several weak fronts pushing through Friday into Sunday. Not much in the way of precipitation but the freezing levels will begin to drop on Thursday night. A change is always welcome especially with the inversion we have been experiencing for the past week & no snow since Dec 3, 2017.

    GOES IR image from this am.

     Cooler temperatures at 1850 meters.

    Monday afternoon.

     A couple of lows!!



    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Awesome day.

    Sun Glaze on most sun exposed areas.

    Small surface hoar in protected areas in the alpine.

    Maximum temperature in the alpine yesterday was +8.5 at 2240 meters & +11 at 1860 meters.

    Smoke from the California fires made its way to B.C.

                                  Come out and support CARDA!

ARTICLES:

5 soldiers missing after avalanches hit army outposts: Northern India

Snowmobiling in Avalanche Country: What you need to Know

Mt Washington avalanche turns into Safety Lesson: New Hampshire

Alaska sees record high temperatures: Juneau

Treckers film massive avalanche as it thunders towards them: Pakistan

Los Angeles smoke reaches the Pacific Northwest: Cliff Mass Weather Blog

December 11, 2017

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Locally, no new avalanche activity observed.

    An ice climber has died in an avalanche in Austria. Story in article section.

   YESTERDAY:

    Very grey day on Sunday, some improvement later in  the day.

    Valley cloud dissipated on Sunday, Max valley temperature on Sunday was +2.3 Deg C.

    Pyroclastic Peak and Mount Cayley.

    Lots of ice formations in the mountains.

    Later in the day there was some nice light to the South.

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

2180 meters    +7, Winds were 30-40 KPH SE--Whistler Peak
1835 meters  +10, Winds were 10-20 KPH SE--Roundhouse
1660 meters    +4, 0 cm of new, 0 cm in 24 hrs  Base 137 cm --Pig Alley

  660 meters     -3, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +2.3, 0.0 mm of precip recorded yest

    As of 07:15 Hrs this am we have scattered cloud & unlimited visibility.  Sunrise is at 08:01 Hrs.

FORECAST:

The ridge is still here, sunny skies for today in a southwest flow aloft. Some high cloud but less than yesterday. Upper level ridge will continue Tuesday and Wednesday with some cloud in the mix as well. Hopefully we will see a change on Thursday as the ridge breaks down with cloudy conditions and light precipitation beginning Thursday night as a series of weak systems push through into the weekend. The FL will drop to around 1200 meters as the first frontal band moves through Thursday/Friday.

    GOES IR image showing clear skies this am.

    Freezing level will drop today to around 2000 meters.

     Could be warmer by Wednesday.

    Image from yesterday afternoon.


INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Alpine creeks are running.

    Amazing there is still ice in the alpine. Max temp at 2240 meters yesterday was +5.2 at 15:00 Hrs.

    Some blue by the end of the day.

    Clouds were pushed away to the North.

    Armchair later in the afternoon.

ARTICLES:

An ice climber has died in an avalanche  in the Anlauftal Valley: Austria

Skiers, snowmachiners help improve snow models: Alaska

Avalanche search & rescue training on Mount Washington: Vancouver Island

December 10, 2017

     AVALANCHE INFORMATION:

   Locally, nothing to report. Watch for wind slabs in isolated lee terrain.

    9 climbers are now confirmed dead in Iranian Avalanche, information in article section.  Net Pic



    YESTERDAY:

    Cold temperatures below the stratus layer Saturday morning.

    Still an outflow in the valley.

    Snow on the right aspect is pretty decent.

    Blue Bird over Whistler for some of the day.

    Valley cloud dissipated to the south and over the town centre. High cirrus cloud most of the day.

    Snow making on the mountain turned parts of the valley white.

Weather Observations for December 10, 2017 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2180 meters    +1, Winds were 25-40 KPH SSW--Whistler Peak
1835 meters    +3, Winds were 20-25 KPH SSW--Roundhouse
1660 meters    +1, 0 cm of new, 0 cm in 24 hrs  Base 138 cm --Pig Alley

  660 meters     -2, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was -0.5, 0.0 mm of precip recorded yest

    As of 07:00 Hrs this am we have scattered cloud and unlimited visibility. Valley layer to the North.

FORECAST:

Strong upper ridge will allow some cloud into the area today in a southwest flow aloft. We may see fewer clouds later in the day. The ridge will maintain dry conditions into the middle of the week. Another weak system brushes the ridge Monday later in the day with more cloud spilling into our zone. Models are still leaning towards a weak front on Thursday into Friday with some light snowfall and seasonable temperatures by Friday night.

    GOES IR this am, some cloud which will dissipate later today.

     High pressure with warm inverted temperatures.


    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Well used skin track.

    Some blowing snow Saturday morning in Blackcomb Glacier.

    Stratus layer did not dissipate to the North.

    Tube park is open. High in the valley yesterday was -0.5 with a low of -4.8 at Nester's Weather Stn.



ARTICLES:

Update on the avalanche in Iran: 9 climbers dead

Super inversion over Western Washington: Cliff Mass