16 May 2023

May 16, 2023

       AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Wet loose with a ski cut just before noon on steep East facing slopes. Otherwise no new avalanches.


      Entraining over the lower traverse on High Test.

      Overlord Ridge. May be a bit of new wet loose activity in the past 48 Hrs.


      Upper Disease Ridge.



    WEATHER YESTERDAY:

       Sunrise Monday was at 05:27 Hrs. +11 Deg C with a 5-10 KPH ESE wind at 1860 m.


     08:00 Hrs. +13 Deg C with a 4-6 KPH SE wind at 1860 m.



     10:00 Hrs. +14 Deg C with a 6-8 KPH S-SE breeze at 1860 m.


     Monday May 15, 2023. 12:00 Hrs. +16 Deg C with a 2-6 KPH SE breeze at 1835 m.


      14:00 Hrs. +17 Deg C with a 10-15 KPH Se wind at 1860 m.


      16:00 Hrs. +14 Deg C with a 25-40 KPH South wind at 2280 m. Some cloud for about 2 hours.

       Image from 2023/05/15. Low in Washington State. High still in control over most of B.C.




Weather Observations for May 16, 2023 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2280 meters     +11, Winds were 5-15 KPH SE--Horstman Hut
1860 meters     +11, Winds were 5-10 KPH ESE--Rendezvous  
1650 meters       +8, 0 mm in 12 Hrs, 0 mm in 24 Hrs. Base 167 cm--Pig Alley
1570 meters     +11, 0 mm in 12 Hrs, 0 mm in 24 Hrs. Base   75 cm--Catskinner
  660 meters       +9, Valley Temp, Max temp Yesterday was +31.7, 0.0 mm of precip yesterday.


  Depending on how new the sensor is, the RH at 2280 m Monday was around 28-40 %.

  At 1860 m it was between 25-40% RH.  At 1570 m  25-50% RH. 25% is pretty low.

09:15 Hrs upload this am.


      0.0 mm recorded at 1650 m as of 06:00 Hrs. Base 167 cm.


       As of 07:00 Hrs we have broken cloud and unlimited visibility.


FORECAST:

Ridge of high pressure continues to dominate the weather pattern in an Easterly flow aloft. Mix of sun and cloud with some cloud spilling in from the low to the South. Will see more cloud as the day progresses with convective activity..  The FL is hovering around 3800 m and could get up to 4500 m today. The low to our South is slowly moving North but may not feel the real impact until Thursday. Looking like a mix of sun and cloud for Wednesday. Mix of sun and cloud for Thursday with afternoon showers and overcast skies as the low pushes in. Unsettled Friday with the chance of an isolated shower. Short lived with dirty ridging for Saturday and Sunday with the chance of some isolated showers.. May have a wet day for Gaper Day on Monday as a frontal band arrives. More on that as we get closer. Guesstimates: 0-trace mm by Wednesday am, 0 mm by Thursday am, trace-1 mm by Friday am, 0-trace mm by Saturday am, 0-1 mm by Sunday am, 1-4 mm by Monday am, 10-20 mm by Tuesday am.


      GOES IR IMAGE from this am.


      WINDY IMAGE 2023/05/16. 05:00 Hrs.


          High pressure will bring dirty ridging for today with a mix of sun and cloud. Warm.


      Dry day today, low just to the South. 


      Easterly flow aloft.

       500 mb image for Tuesday. Easterly flow.


       High and low boundary, high still winning. Warm.


      Ridge strengthens. Some cloud but mostly sunny on Wednesday.


               Low and high boundary, cloud moves in later in the pm with some showers Thursday. 


      Nice in the am on Thursday, clouds move in with pm showers. 


        Unsettled agin on Friday, dirty ridging with mix of sun and cloud. Above average temps.


      Dry Friday with a mix of sun and cloud.


       Another unsettled day Saturday with chance of some convective showers.


      Unsettled Sunday with a mix of sun and cloud with periods of light precipitation.

     Trough will bring overcast skies for Gaper day with light /moderate precipitation. May change?




      INFORMATION AND OBSERVATIONS: 

      05:30 Hrs at 2280 m, +11 Deg C with a 5-15 KPH NE wind. Some smoke down that way!


      Blue Bird Morning.


      Water, water everywhere.


      Horstman Creek was pumping!

      Looked firm but was soft.



      Ascent trail hiker made it to above the Castle. Wonder if it says closed?


      He eventually walked into the patrol, not sure of the outcome! Wanted to go to Rendezvous!


      Nice early morning slush skiing on Springboard, slip slopping away.


      Very moist snow.

      More melt since yesterday.


      Standing water around the periphery of Blackcomb Lake.


      Clouds would appear, grow then evaporate in 3 minutes. All the same cloud in these three shots.


      They would grow for a couple of minutes. How do clouds dissipate! <Click for explanation.


      And then it was gone. The humidity is so low. 25-30 % in the heat of the day.


      As of 14:30m Hrs. at the Catskinner weather plot there was a Base of 80 cm. +17.5 Deg C.


      Cooling off the metal parts?


      A few clouds around in the pm in Pemberton. High there on Monday was +35.9 Deg C.


      Sharing the sky with Mount Currie as the back drop. Look close for the helicopter!




FROM AVALANCHE CANADA:

Backcountry Avalanche Advisory – Sea to Sky

Avalanche Canada advisories are done for the season. Advisories are typically available in fall, winter and spring (October – April). Please check back in Fall 2023 for Whistler and the Sea to Sky region advisories. If you're heading into the mountains this spring, learn more about assessing spring conditions.

LOCAL MIN REPORTS:

Lillooet Icefield Conditions May 6-13, 2023: May 13, 2023


SHORT CLIPS:

Alberta Fires: Fox Creek

Satellite Images: Alberta Fires

Having a bad day: CDFL would be handy

Red Bull Airforce: Cool Flyby


ARTICLES:

Investigation into percolation and liquid water content in a multi-layered snow model for wet snow instabilities: Glacier National Park, Canada

A theory of water percolation in snow: Journal of Glaciology

Dangerous Compensation: Article on Airbags

Fires, Avalanches, and Floods: Colorado

Scientists take flight to measure vast California Snowpack: Measure Flooding Threats


      If you enjoy the content and find it useful, please hit the donate button, top right on side bar.



Send me recent avalanche images. E-Mail top right of the side bar. Read Below:


Goggle contest returning again this year, win a pair of Marker goggles for the best avalanche image for the months of  April-May.  Grand prize best image of the  season will be a Pair of Prior Skis or a Split Board awarded at the end of May. 

15 May 2023

May 15, 2023

      AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

      Some Sc wet loose Sz 1 on Blackcomb Sunday. Some Sz 1 Na wet loose observed.


      Wet loose out of Sudan Couloir Saturday pm on sweep. Sc Sz1.

      Moved slowly down the slope.


      A different perspective of the Sz 1 wet loose. Debris ran down near the Moraine.


      Looking up at Husume. Slide activity started at the End of April into Early May..


      Moats appearing around the rocks with a very quick melt.



      WEATHER YESTERDAY:

      Sunrise Sunday was at 05:27 Hrs. 

     08:00 Hrs. +13 Deg C with a 5-20 KPH NNE wind at 1860 m.


     10:00 Hrs. +13 Deg C with a 10-20 KPH NE wind at 1860 m.

      Sunday May 14, 2023. 12:00 Hrs. +14 Deg C with a 10-20 KPH ESE wind at 1835 m.

     14:00 Hrs. +13 Deg C with a 5-15 KPH ENE wind at 2280 m.


      16:00 Hrs. +15 Deg C with a 10-25 KPH ESE wind at 2280 m.



Weather Observations for May 15, 2023 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2280 meters     +11, Winds were 10-15 KPH NE--Horstman Hut
1860 meters     +11, Winds were   8-12 KPH E--Rendezvous  
1650 meters       +9, 0 mm in 12 Hrs, 0 mm in 24 Hrs. Base 175 cm--Pig Alley
1570 meters     +11, 0 mm in 12 Hrs, 0 mm in 24 Hrs. Base   84 cm--Catskinner
  660 meters       +8, Valley Temp, Max temp Yesterday was +31.1, 0.0 mm of precip yesterday.


High Sunday at 2280 m was + 15.3 Deg C at 19:00 Hrs.

High in the valley Sunday was 31.1 Deg C. Squamish High was +35.8 Deg C.(Records broken)

Should be a 09:15 upload today.


      No precipitation recorded at 1650 m. Base 175 cm. Last Monday the Base was 204 cm. 


       As of 07:00 Hrs we have clear skies and unlimited visibility. +11 Deg C. 



     

FORECAST:

Strong upper level ridge will bring mostly sunny skies for today in an Easterly flow aloft. Will see some convective cloud development from the low to our South later in the afternoon. The FL is hovering well above the local peaks, and should rise to around 4000+ m today. Ridging continues into Tuesday with mostly sunny skies and some clouds later in the pm. Mix of sun and cloud for Wednesday. Mostly sunny on Thursday with some pm clouds. Mix of sun and cloud on Friday with some convective activity that may bring some isolated showers. Time will tell. More on that as we get closer. Mix of sun and cloud Saturday. Ditto for Sunday. Cooler and wetter by early next week according to some long range models. Guesstimates: No precipitation until possibly Friday.


      GOES IR IMAGE from this am.


      WINDY IMAGE 2023/05/15. 05:00 Hrs.


      Large High with a North moving, upper level low to the South.


       High pressure will bring sunny skies this am, some convective cloud development in the pm.


      No precipitation for Monday. Low slowly moving North.


      Easterly flow aloft.

          Low has the potential for convective cloud development with lightning to SouthEast B.C.


        Low will bring some cloud into the area in the pm, sunny in the am. Above average temps.



      Some cloud but dry on Tuesday.



        Mix of sun and cloud on Wednesday. Above average temperatures.


      Dry with some pm clouds on Wednesday.



        High pressure still in control. Some pm cloud. Above average temperatures.


      High still keeping the low at bay. Another dry day.



      Mix of sun and cloud for Friday, possibility of some showers.



      Mix of sun and cloud on Saturday. Cooler but still above average temps.



      INFORMATION AND OBSERVATIONS:

     Awesome Sunday morning, Happy Mothers Day hope you all had an awesome day!

      First light on Whistler Peak.


      08:45 Upload Sunday am.


      Rumbling Glacier. Gliding Avalanches


      Smoke from the Squamish Valley Fire, Saturday afternoon. Click> Squamish Valley Fire Update


      Haze from the Fire in the Squamish Valley Sunday am.


       7th Heaven closed just after 11:00 Hrs due to Avalanche Risk. GE closed early but later in the pm.



      Black Tusk


      Your Captain Here, "Below you can see the once World Class Ski Resort of Whistler."


      Switch on a skim!


      Loosing your ski in the slush sucks!!!


      Kudos to the groomers for keeping the egress ribbon going.




FROM AVALANCHE CANADA:

Backcountry Avalanche Advisory – Sea to Sky

Avalanche Canada advisories are done for the season. Advisories are typically available in fall, winter and spring (October – April). Please check back in Fall 2023 for Whistler and the Sea to Sky region advisories. If you're heading into the mountains this spring, learn more about assessing spring conditions.

LOCAL MIN REPORTS:

No new MIN Reports as of 07:00 Hrs.


SHORT CLIPS:

T-Bar: Gap Jump

Smooth Fresh Cord: Turns

Sand Boarding: Peru

Crazy Crash: Dominoes


ARTICLES:

All melt, No freeze scenario: Avalanche Canada

Spring Considerations for avalanche forecasting: WildSnow

The Mysteries of glide avalanches: ScienceNorway

Tourists flee as an avalanche comes down on road in Tibet: YahooNews

Connecticut women sues Keystone Ski Patrollers for accident while being rescued: Colorado


      If you enjoy the content and find it useful, please hit the donate button, top right on side bar.



Send me recent avalanche images. E-Mail top right of the side bar. Read Below:


Goggle contest returning again this year, win a pair of Marker goggles for the best avalanche image for the months of  April-May.  Grand prize best image of the  season will be a Pair of Prior Skis or a Split Board awarded at the end of May.