Wayne Flann Avalanche Blog

26 Nov 2022

November 26, 2022

AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

Avalanche mitigation Friday pm on Chainsaw Ridge, Xe produced some Sz 1 results.

Avalanche Control Friday afternoon. Sz 1 Sy.

Avalanche control on Whistler Friday produced some Sz 1.5 -2 Xe Xc storm slabs.

WEATHER YESTERDAY:

November 25, 2022. 12:00 Hrs. 12:00 Hrs. -5 Deg C at 1860 meters. 5-15 KPH SW wind.

Weather Observations for November 26, 2022 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2280 meters -7, Winds were 20-40 KPH N--Horstman Hut

2180 meters -8, Winds were 20-30 KPH N--Whistler Peak

1860 meters -5, Winds were 20-30 KPH N--Rendezvous

1835 meters -5, Winds were 5-10 KPH E--Round House

1650 meters -4, 0 cm in 12 Hrs, 6 cm in 24 Hrs. Base 66 cm--Pig Alley

1570 meters -3, trace in 12 Hrs, 3 cm in 24 Hrs. Base 29 cm--Catskinner

660 meters 0, Valley Temp, Max temp Yesterday was +7.0 17.7 mm of precip yesterday.

As of 07:00 Hrs this am we have mostly overcast skies with unlimited visibility.

FORECAST:

Strong frontal band moving down the coast with light/moderate snowfall and strong alpine winds will bring a storm ski/ride day! Flow aloft will be Westerly-North Westerly with a freezing level hovering around 1000 meters. Trough will push through around midnight with cloudy skies in its wake. Sunday is looking dry and overcast with a chance of some snow flurries with much colder temperatures. Ridging and frigid Arctic air for Monday with mostly sunny skies. Pow alert for Tuesday with cold temperatures and a low colliding close by. More on that in tomorrows post as there are some model discrepancies. Guesstimates: 20-25 cm by Sunday am, 0-trace by Monday am, 0 cm by Tuesday am, 15-25 cm by Wednesday am??

GOES IR Image from this am.

GOES 17 ABI image 2022/11/26. 05:00 Hrs.

Upper trough moving down the coast today, bringing wind and snow to Whistler. Cooler!

Precipitation will start this am and dry out by Early Sunday am.

West-North Westerly flow aloft.

Weakening upper trough will bring cloudy skies, chance of a flurry Sunday.

Weak trough with mostly cloudy skies for Sunday.

Ridging and arctic air will bring cold sunny weather for Monday.

Dry cold weather Monday.

Cold weather with a deep low well off the coast, forecast for snow to sea level.

Low mixes with arctic air for dry pow on Tuesday.

Arctic Air brining much cooler temperatures next week.

INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

Raining in the valley Friday am. +4 Deg C at 660 m.

Very wet in the valley Friday am.

Same time frame as above image. -3 Deg C with a 10-30 KPH SSW wind. Snowing 2.5 cm/hr.

Nice snow above 1800 meters.

A few deep turns on Roundhouse Roll.

Blackcomb closed for hiking at top of Jersey Cream Chair.

Whistler was open at Pika's Traverse.

Bushrat Shoulder. Friday afternoon.

Decent powder turns above 1700 m. If you are doing avalanche control!!

Some nice sunny breaks mid day.

Cowboy ridge Friday afternoon.

Weekend Chutes are slowly filling in. Awesome light near the end of the day.

MOUNTAIN CONDITIONS REPORT:

Disease Ridge and Body Bag Bowl-Nov 25, 2022: Dave Sarkany

LOCAL MIN REPORTS:

No new MIN reports as of 07:00 Hrs 2022/11/26.

VIDEOS:

Early Season Avalanche Conditions: AvyBites

Touchy new snow: Easily Triggered

ARTICLES:

Sea to Sky Avalanche Advisory: Nov 25, 2022

Forecasters warn of considerable avalanche danger in high areas of the Purcells as snow builds: AC

Skier carried in avalanche slide North of Bozeman: Montana

25 Nov 2022

November 25, 2022

AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

Sz 2 Skier remote, 2022/11/23. Observation Sub Peak, B.C. AC MIN Report<click.

Bomb Holes from Wednesday on Whistler. Some cornice work Thursday. Sz 1

Moist snow moving on Thursday. Some wet Sz 1 wet loose on steep terrain.

Snowballing on steep terrain, +4 at 1860 m at 14:30 Hrs. Heard of Sa Sz 1 steep N asp, wind slab.

WEATHER YESTERDAY:

Thursday November 24, 2022. 12:00 Hrs. 0 Deg C with a 70-100 KPH South wind at 2280 m.

Weather Observations for November 25, 2022 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2280 meters -3, Winds were 65-90 KPH SSW--Horstman Hut

2180 meters -3, Winds were 40-50 KPH S--Whistler Peak

1860 meters -1, Winds were 20-35 KPH S--Rendezvous

1835 meters -1, Winds were 20-30 KPH SSW--Round House

1650 meters +1, 12.4 mm in 12 Hrs, 12.4 mm in 24 Hrs. Base 65 cm --Pig Alley

1570 meters 0, No data. Base 28 cm --Catskinner

660 meters +5, Valley Temp, Max temp Yesterday was +5.4, 0.2 mm of precip yesterday.

06:00 Hrs 2022/11/25. 12.4 mm recorded. +1 Deg C, high last night of +5 Deg C. at 1650 m. 1 cm new.

As of 07:00 Hrs this am we have obscured skies, limited visibility and snowing.

FORECAST:

Cooling down as the warm front pushes through this am in a South West flow aloft. Slow transition to cloudy skies with some breaks by this afternoon. Freezing level will continue to drop to around 800 meters by this afternoon, may go a bit lower. Dries out by this evening with the next active frontal band arriving Saturday am. Looks like the freezing level will hover around 1000 m, maybe slightly lower for snow to the valley. Front pushes through by Sunday am, with unsettled weather in its wake. Mostly cloudy Sunday with some sunny breaks and snow showers. Cold arctic air moves in on Sunday with even colder temperatures on Monday. Looks like a high pressure builds in with mostly sunny skies for Monday. More on that in tomorrows post. Several other systems with snow are forecasted for next week. (Polar Lobe) Guesstimates: 3-6 cm by Saturday am, 18-22 cm by Sunday am, 0-trace by Monday am.

GOES IR image from this am.