January 15, 2019

    YESTERDAY:

    Early Monday morning.

    Valley cloud, outflow from Pemberton.

    Blue Bird day. High of +2.5 Dec C at 2240 meters at 15:15 hrs.

    Glistening snow.

    Great day for a flight.

    Sun going down!!!

    All lifts closed.



Weather Observations for January 15, 2019  taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters      0, Winds were 5-10 KPH E--Horstman Hut
2180 meters     -2, Winds were 5-10 KPH SE--Whistler Peak
1860 meters      0, Winds were 5-10 KPH S--Rendevous
1835 meters    +1, Winds were 5-10 KPH SSW--Round House
1650 meters     -2, 0 cm of new, 0 cm in 24 hrs, Base 248 cm--Pig Alley
1565 meters     -1, 0 cm of new, 0 cm in 24 hrs, Base 183 cm--Catskinner

  660 meters     -5, Valley Temp, Max temp Yesterday was +1.1, 0.0 mm of precip recorded yest

Will see temperatures drop this am in the alpine.

    As of 07:00 Hrs we have clear skies, unlimited visibility and valley cloud.


FORECAST:

Ridge remains for another awesome sunny day with cooler temperatures in a Southerly flow aloft.
The FL should top out at around 1700 meters today dropping back down to surface by tomorrow am. Wednesday is looking unsettled as the low from the South migrates North spilling some cloud into the area. A weak shortwave trough will bring light precipitation for Thursday, the trough will remain in the area until Sunday when we may see some ridging. Guesstimates: 4-6 cm by Friday morning, 8-12 cm by Saturday morning, 10-15 cm by Sunday morning.  These numbers will be adjusted as we get closer.

    GOES IR image this am.

    Cooler air mass with ridging for today.

    Fronts along the coast.

    Low moves up the coast, spreading cloud into the area, cooler air to the Northeast.

        Low and Arctic Front for some light precip. FL should top out at around 1000 meters.

    Weak trough for Friday as well with periods of moderate precip with mostly light prcip.


    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    A ski patroller has died in an avalanche at Les Crosets, Switzerland. Article below.         Net Pic

    A roof avalanche has killed a man in Austria. Article below.                                            Net Pic

    Locally, many wet loose avalanches over the past few days.

    Mount Currie Activity.

    Lots of cornice debris in the bowls, heads up when the visibility changes.


    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Mount Fee <click for info.

    Surface hoar is developing.

    Wide spread surface hoar.

    Upper Disease Ridge,

    Fragile wind deposited features.


From Avalanche Canada MIN Reports:

Cassiope: Jan 13, 2019

Spearhead Range: Jan 13, 2019



ARTICLES:

Ski Patroller killed by an avalanche in the Canton of Valais: Switzerland

A roof avalanche has killed a man in Faistenau: Austria

Update on Father & Son avalanche fatality near Invemere: Mt. Brewar

Weakness in the Purcells snowpack: Avalanche Canada

Avalanche injures two people in Chitral: Pakistan

Extreme winter weather brings fatal avalanches and cuts off Alpine Resorts: Europe

Article on Near Surface Faceting: Utah

January 14, 2019

    YESTERDAY:

    Early Sunday morning!!

    Sunrise Lakeside. Some high scattered cloud in the morning.

    Pyroclastic Peak, click for info.

    Rumbling Glacier.

    Blue bird in the afternoon.

    Rare blood moon, <(click here) full moon, lunar eclipse Jan 20-21.

    Awesome Alpin glow at days end.

    Sunday afternoon.



Weather Observations for January 14, 2019  taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters     -1, Winds were 15-25 KPH SE--Horstman Hut
2180 meters     -1, Winds were 10-15 KPH ESE--Whistler Peak
1860 meters    +1, Winds were   5-10 KPH SE--Rendevous
1835 meters    +2, Winds were   5-10 KPH E--Round House
1650 meters     -2, 0 cm of new, 0 cm in 24 hrs, Base 257 cm--Pig Alley
1565 meters     -1, 0 cm of new, 0 cm in 24 hrs, Base 187 cm--Catskinner

  660 meters     -1, Valley Temp, Max temp Yesterday was +5.0, 0.0 mm of precip recorded yest

    As of 07:00 Hrs we have clear skies, unlimited visibility and some valley cloud.


FORECAST:

The upper ridge strengthens today with warm temperatures in a Southerly flow aloft. The FL will likely reach 3000 meters. More sun for Tuesday but the air mass will be cooler, with the FL dropping to 1000 meters Tuesday morning then rising to about 1700 meters in the afternoon with day time heating. Wednesday will see a transition from clear skies to increasing cloud as the low to the South begins to push in. Thursday through Saturday will see light precipitation with fluctuating freezing levels. Guesstimates: trace-1 cm by Thursday morning, 2-4 cm by Friday morning. Subject to change as we get closer, some descprepencies in the models.

    GOES IR image from this am.

     High pressure with warm temperatures,

    Fronts along the coast.

    High pressure maintains for Tuesday.

    Low moving up from the South for Wednesday.

    Broad upper trough for Thursday.



    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

   A snowmobiler has died in an avalanche on Mount Brewar, 1 missing. Article below.    AC Image

    Wet loose on sun exposed slopes.

    Fresh wet loose Lakeside.

    Older avalanche debris in Glacier Bowl. Xc

    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    High scattered cloud Sunday morning.

    Slowly melting!!

    Cornices are fragile, large, and dangerous. Wide bearth advised.

    Symphony Chair.

    Great entertainment in the terrain park on Sunday.

    Top of Showcase T-Bar.

    Just a bit too much weight.

    There were some good turns to be had!!

    Pretty big High pressure!!!

    Really big picture Sunday afternoon.


From Avalanche Canada MIN Reports:

Spearhead Range: Jan 13, 2019


From South Coast Touring:
Ilze Rupners
Did Tszil yesterday with fellow acc vancouverites. Great day!Joffre lakes parking lot plowed! Temperatures stayed below 0 celsius all day. Easy fast skiing on hard slab in the alpine. No instabilities noted today although there had been quite the avalanche activity from the previous storms. Debris went way farther than I have seen in a while. ( we did hear but not see a rock / avalanche from the sunny aspect of Joffre late in the day. ) Ski out on trails from 3rd lake home can best be described as tiresome.


ARTICLES:

A snowmobiler has been killed in an avalanche near Invermere, 1 still missing: Global News

Germany, Austria set for more snow after deadly avalanches: DW

Update on the accident that killed 2 Ski Patrollers: France

Avalanche slams into a German Hotel, no injuries reported: CTV News

Max Meyer's rescuers triggered fatal avalanche in St Anton, parents say: ABC News