September 21, 2020

     PAST WEEK:

      Monday September 14, 2020. 12:00 Hrs. + 8 with a 5-10 KPH WNW breeze. + 15 at 660 meters.

      Satellite image from same timeframe as above image.

      Tuesday September 15, 2020. 12:00 Hrs. + 9 with a 5-10 KPH WNW wind. + 15 in the valley.

      Satellite image from same timeframe as above image.

      Wednesday September 16, 2020. 12:00 Hrs. + 15 with a 5-10 KPH North Breeze. + 20 at 660 m.

      Satellite image from the same timeframe as above image.

      Thursday September 17, 2020. 13:00 Hrs. + 16 with a 5-10 KPH NNE Breeze. + 19 in the valley.

      Satellite image from same timeframe as above image. Still smokey.

      Friday September 18, 2020. 12:00 Hrs. + 13 with a 5-10 KPH NNE breeze. + 14 in the valley.

      Satellite image from the same timeframe as above image. Smoke & Cloud over Whistler!!

     Saturday September 19, 2020. + 8 with a 15-25 KPH SW wind. + 14 in the valley.

     Satellite image from the same timeframe as above image.

     Sunday September 20, 2020. 12:00 Hrs. + 7 with a 10-25 KPH SW wind. + 16 in the valley.

     Satellite image form the same timeframe as above image.

Weather Observations for September 21, 2020 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2180 meters     +3, Winds were 20-25 KPH S--Whistler Peak
1835 meters     +5, Winds were   5-15 KPH SE--Round House
1650 meters     +3, 0.0 mm of rain, 0.0 mm in 24 hrs. --Pig Alley

 660 meters.     +7, Max temp yesterday was + 17.9, 0.2 mm recorded yesterday.

      Sunrise 06:57 Hrs this am. Broken cloud and unlimited visibility.

FORECAST:

A weak upper ridge which brought some sunny breaks Sunday will be replaced by a weak upper trough today in a Southwesterly flow aloft. Air quality in Whistler is back down to 1. Looking like a moist week ahead with an unsettled Monday to start the week off.  Mostly overcast skies and the occasional sunny break. Tuesday is looking overcast with some light precipitation as a moist warm front pushes through. A vigorous wet windy cold front arrives Tuesday night into Wednesday with rain. Thursday in to Saturday will see a series of frontal bands push through with a drying trend by Sunday. High pressure rebuilds by next Monday hopefully, some models are suggesting more wet weather. Guesstimates: 0 mm by Tuesday am, 5-10 mm by Wednesday am, 30-50 mm by Thursday am, 5-10 mm by Friday am, 10-25 mm by Saturday am, 10-20 mm by Sunday am.

     GOES IR image from this am.

     Low will slide down the coast today with mostly cloudy weather and some showers.

      Fronts along the coast.

     Low continues to grow and move South.

     Low keeps growing.

     Low weakens on Thursday with less precipitation for Thursday.

      Low still affecting South Coast on Saturday.

      On the edge for Sunday but still a chance of some showers.

     AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

     New Zealand Avalanche Advisory




      OBSERVATIONS & INFORMATION:

      Monday afternoon. Sept 14. 15:00 Hrs. + 8 with a 15-25 KPH South wind.

      Smoke from fires on the US West Coast reached Southern Ontario.

      Tuesday sunrise 06:48 Hrs. + 8. Broad upper trough helping a bit with air quality!!
 

      From the West Coast to the Great Lakes and beyond!!!.

      Sunrise Wednesday 06:50 Hrs. Smoke. + 10.

      Wednesday noon.

      Same time frame as above image.

      Thursday sunrise 06:51 Hrs. + 13 at 1835 m. Smoke is lingering.

     Smoke still swirling around in the Pacific.

      Different perspective of how much smoke there is.

      Friday sunrise was at 06:53 Hrs. +11 Deg C.

      Saturday sunrise, 06:54 Hrs. + 7 with 2 mm of precip recorded at 1650 m. Upper trough > East.

     Sunday sunrise 06:56 Hrs. + 5. Air quality looks better.  5.9 mm recorded ar 660 m Saturday.

      Lake Simcoe Sunday evening.

ARTICLES:

Avalanche Canada preparing for uncertainty: Powder Canada

Ice Climbing for beginners--Avalanche Beacons and Recco Tech: Gripped

Avalanche warnings for six South Island Peaks: New Zealand

Season Prep and the "Wicked" nature of Backcountry Skiing: Wild Snow

BlueBird Backcountry to open without reservations: Powder

Smoke from West Coast reaches East Coast: USA Today

Smoke reaches Europe: CNN

September 14, 2020

    PAST WEEK:

    Monday September 7, 2020. 12:00 Hrs. + 10 with a 15-40 KPH North wind. + 21 at 660 m.

    Satellite image from the same timeframe as above image.

    Tuesday September 8, 2020. 12:00 Hrs. + 14  with a 5-10 KPH North breeze. + 21 at 660 m.

    Satellite image from same timeframe as above image.

    Wednesday September 9, 2020. 12:00 Hrs. + 17 Deg with a 5-15 KPH NNE wind. + 24 at 660 m.

    Satellite image from same timeframe as above image.

    Thursday September 10, 2020. 12:00 Hrs. + 19 with a 5-10 KPH West breeze. + 26 in the valley.

    Satellite image from the same timeframe as above images.

    Friday September 11, 2020. 12:00 Hrs. + 18 with a 5-15 KPH SSW Wind. + 24 in the valley.

    Satellite image from same timeframe as above.

     Smoke spreading over a massive area.

    Saturday September 12, 2020. 12:00 Hrs. + 17 with a 5-15 KPH SSW wind. + 21 at 660 m.

    Satellite image from the same timeframe as above. That's a lot of smoke!!!

    Sunday September 13, 2020. + 9 with a 15-40 KPH South wind. + 12 in the valley.

    Satellite image from the same timeframe as above image.



Weather Observations for September 14, 2020 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2180 meters     +2, Winds were 10-15 KPH SSW--Whistler Peak
1835 meters     +4, Winds were 10-20 KPH W--Round House
1650 meters     +6, 0.0 mm of rain, 0.0 mm in 24 hrs. --Pig Alley

  660 meters     +8, Valley Temp, Max temp Yesterday was + 15.3, 0.0 mm of precip yesterday.

    Sunrise this am 06:47. Mix of cloud and smoke, limited visibility.



FORECAST:

The upper ridge has begun to shift east with a light Southwest flow aloft bringing an unsettled pattern with a somewhat moist air mass into the area by tonight. A weak warm front pushes through with a chance of some showers by tonight and into  the early hours of Tuesday? Not a very strong push so air quality will likely remain poor for the next few days. With the stationary low and high on either side of our zone hard to determine what will happen mid week into the weekend. Going for unsettled weather with enough smoke so that it will be difficult to see the sun anyway! Chance of some light showers depending on how the onshore flow reacts with the weak upper low, which is forecasted to slide South and eventually shift East by the weekend. Guesstimates: trace to 2 mm by Tuesday am, 0-trace by Wednesday am, 0-trace by Thursday am, 0-trace by Friday am, 1-2 mm by Saturday am, 0 mm by Sunday am.

    GOES IR image from this am.

     Upper low sitting off the coast but could be weaker and drier depending on what it does.

     Low sits off the coast and the high hangs in the Northeast.

      Low and high are knocking on the door.

     Should see some influence from the low on Thursday. Time will tell.

    Thursday could go either wy.

   Looking like the low may win on Friday.

    Looks fairly dry into Saturday.

    May be dry Sunday as well.


    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    An avalanche in Baguales, Argentina has killed a snowboarder. Article Below. Powder Hounds Image

    New Zealand Avalanche Advisory


    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

     Registration is now open for the VSSW. Click here to register: VSSW 2020

   Recent photo of Rainbow Glacier                                                                        Marius Marginean Pic

    Tuesday, 07:00 Hrs. + 7 Deg C at 1835 meters.

    Big picture Tuesday afternoon. Significant High. Check out Oregon Fires!!

     500 MB image from same timeframe as above image. Omega Block

    Sunrise Wednesday morning, 13 Hours of daylight on this date. 06:39 sunrise, 19:39 sunset.

   Thursday sunrise 06:41 Hrs. + 14 at 2180 meters, + 9 at 660 meters.

    Fires in Oregon.                                                                                                 Aqua Satellite Image

    Sunrise Friday was at 06:42 Hrs. + 12 at 2180 m. Looks like some smoke in the valley.

   Sunrise Saturday 06:44 Hrs. + 9 Deg C at 2180 m + 9 at 660 m. More smoke moving up the valley.

    Saturday afternoon in Whistler Village.

    Wing Foiling on Lake Couchiching Saturday.

   Sunrise 06:45 Hrs Sunday morning. Smoke has risen into the alpine. + 7 at 1860 m.

    Howe Sound Sunday afternoon. Click here > Whistler -Air Quality Health Index         Shira Flann Pic



ARTICLES:

A snowboarder has died in an avalanche in Baguales: Argentina

How to safely begin Backcountry Skiing: SnowBrains

Special Air Quality Statement for Whistler: September 9, 2020

Shrinking glaciers lead to growing lakes-and growing risk: Nature

Vancouver air quality among worst in the world due to distant U.S. wildfires: News 1130

Social Media & Avalanche Safety Research Program: SFU

NOAA ENSO Diagnostic Discussion: Sept 10, 2020