January 16, 2018

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Locally, no new avalanche activity observed.

   YESTERDAY:

    Cloud moved in quickly Monday morning.

    Stratus layer in the valley, outflow situation while the upper flow was from the South.

    Awesome light in the afternoon.

    Cool lenticular clouds.

    Blue skies to the Northwest.

    Another great day at the office!!

    Sunset was at 16:38 on Monday evening.

Weather Observations for January 16, 2018  taken at 06:00 Hours.

2180 meters     -3, Winds were 45-70 KPH E --Whistler Peak
1835 meters     -1, Winds were 10-25 KPH SE--Roundhouse
1660 meters     +1, 1 cm of new, 1 cm in 24 hrs  Base 183 cm --Pig Alley

  660 meters       0, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +2.6, 0.0 mm of precip recorded yest

    As of 07:30 Hrs we have obscured skies, limited visibility, and it is snowing lightly.


FORECAST:

A weak front will pass through today with periods of light precipitation in a Southerly flow aloft this am, switching to Westerly later today. The freezing level should drop down to around 700 meters tonight as there are some breaks expected tonight. A strong deep low (960 mb) will bring a windy moist Southwest flow with heavy snow to the area on Wednesday into Thursday. Weaker frontal bands for Friday and Saturday with another strong front expected for Sunday.
Guesstimates: 12-16 cm by Wednesday morning, 30-40 cm by Thursday morning, 20-30 cm by Friday morning.

    GOES IR image from this am.

    Freezing level should drop to 1000 Meters.

    Weak front for this am.

    Unsettled later today.

    Coastal Fronts.

    Deep strong low for Wednesday.

    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Mountain Film Tour coming to Squamish. Click here: Thursday January 18, 2018  For Tickets

    There was a glaze out there on Monday.

    Thin and brittle. Hopefully the warm temperatures will create a good bond with the new snow.

    Thick stratus layer above the valley floor.

    Pinwheeling from Sunday.

 Monday afternoon.

    Big picture with a deep looking low out in the Pacific.


Recent Avalanche Canada MIN Report:

Pascal West Shoulder

Caspar Creek



ARTICLES:

Backcountry skiers warned to keep away from Rockies as a result of severe avalanche danger:
Avalanche Canada

10 things a Real Mountain Sledder would never do: Mountain Sledder

Make Safety part of your outdoor adventures: Kamploops

Winter 2018 Avalanche Safety Products: Salt Lake City

Avalanche Danger continues in the Sawtooth Range: Idaho

January 15, 2018

    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    An avalanche has killed two snowmobilers in Russia. Story in article section below.     Net Pic.

    An avalanche has killed a mountaineer in the Bucegi Mountains, Romania.  Story below.   Net Pic

    Locally, Sz 1-2.5 Na, Sc, Sa Xe. Skier accidental Sz 2.5 on the Duffy yesterday.

   YESTERDAY:

    Clear skies and low valley cloud Sunday morning.

    Just below the valley cloud Sunday morning.

    Looking North Sunday afternoon. +11 at 1860 meters--13:30 Hrs.

    Okanagan Connector.

    Just below the cloud layer.

    Fresh snow and blue skies at the summit on the connector.


Weather Observations for January 15, 2018  taken at 06:00 Hours.

2180 meters     +2, Winds were 55-65 KPH ESE--Whistler Peak
1835 meters     +6, Winds were 10-30 KPH SE   --Roundhouse
1660 meters     +3, 0 cm of new, 0 cm in 24 hrs  Base 184 cm --Pig Alley

  660 meters     +1, Valley Temp, Max Temp Yesterday was +2.7, 0.0 mm of precip recorded yest

    As of 07:30 Hrs this am we have clear skies and unlimited visibility with valley cloud.


FORECAST:

Unsettled weather this am with mild temperatures as the ridge slides to the East. Today we will see increasing cloud cover in a Southerly flow aloft. The freezing level will slowly drop to 1800 meters by tonight with light to moderate precipitation expected, by tomorrow morning it should be down to 1500 meters and continue to drop to 800 meters by Tuesday night. The weak occluded front tonight will be followed by an upper trough on Tuesday.  A deep upper low will bring stormy weather to our zone by Wednesday night and continue into Thursday. A parade of frontal bands will continue into next weekend.
Guesstimates: 4-8 cm by Tuesday morning at 1650 meters (FL Dependant), 12-18 cm by Wednesday morning, 20-35 cm by Thursday morning, 20-30 cm by Friday morning.

    GOES IR image this am.

    Still warm, Southerly flow for Monday.

    Weak cold front heading here for tomorrow morning.

    Fronts along the Coast.

    Tuesday the front pushes through with a break expected Tuesday night.



    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Inverted temperatures Sunday morning, at 09:30 at 1860 meters it was +7 Deg C.

   As of 09:00 Hrs Sunday am it was 0 Deg C in the valley.

    Okanagan Lake early Sunday morning.

    Fresh snow on the Okanagan Connector.

    Pinwheels on the connector.

    Not much snow in the Nicola Valley.

    Wet loose point releases.

    Avalanche & Rock Slide sheds along the Thompson River.

    Back into the Coastal Range.

    Lots of sheep out yesterday.

    Birds as well.

    Looking South down the Fraser River.

    Sunday afternoon.

    High went all the way up the coast.



ARTICLES:

Avalanche kills two snowmobilers in Khakassia: Russia

An avalanche has killed a mountaineer in the Bucegi Mountains: Romania

'Wet Slide' avalanche concludes wild week on Mount Washington: New Hampshire

'The Backcountry is never closed'--The Bookworms host two avalanche forecasters: Vail Daily