January 4, 2019

    YESTERDAY:

    Early Thursday morning. Roads were in rough shape!!!

    On the way to the hill!!

    Lots of snow Thursday morning.

    Straight lining.

    It was a poncho day!!!

    Hard morning!

    Very wet, by noon.

    Whistler got some mid mountain lifts opened by noon.

    Thursday afternoon.

    Same time line as above image.

    21:00 Hours Thursday night, dumping in the valley again, 0 Deg C.


Weather Observations for January 4, 2019  taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters     -5, Winds were 75-160 KPH SE--Horstman Hut
2180 meters     -5, Winds were 95-120 KPH S--Whistler Peak
1860 meters     -3, Winds were   30-75 KPH S--Rendevous
1835 meters     -3, Winds were   20-65 KPH SE--Round House
1650 meters     -1, 25 cm of new, 58 cm in 24 hrs, Base 272 cm--Pig Alley
1565 meters     -1, 24 cm of new, 49 cm in 24 hrs, Base 205 cm--Catskinner

  660 meters      0, Valley Temp, Max temp Yesterday was +0.5, 38.1 mm of precip recorded yest

    As of 07:00 hrs this am we have obscured skies, limited visibility and snowing 1 cm per hr.



FORECAST:

A weak upper trough will bring overcast moist conditions in a Southwesterly flow aloft. The FL will gradually drop to 1000 meters by tonight. We can expect light/moderate precipitation for today with strong winds, drying out by Saturday with a mostly cloudy day. A weak ridge is forecasted to build for Sunday into Monday before another frontal band arrives for Tuesday. There is a low to our South for Sunday/ Monday that may spill some cloud our way with flurries. Models are all over the map for next week so more on that later. Guesstimates: 20-30 cm by Saturday morning, 3-5 cm by Sunday morning, 3-5 cm by Monday morning.

    GOES IR image from this am.

    Cooler temps by this afternoon.

    Fronts along the coast.

    Low to our South will bring mostly cludy skies. Slightly cooler temps.

    Low will still send cloud our way bur colder and drier for Sunday.

    Low moves East, looking like a dry and sunny day. Cold temperatures for Monday..




    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    4 Skiers likely dead after an avalanche in Norway. Article below.                                      Net Pic

    Someone actually thought it was a good idea to walk up hill while patrol was doing AC work!!!

    Ski patroller coming off a route. Sc up to 1 meter slab. Some Sz 1-2 Xe, Xl, Sc. Dry>Moist slabs

    Obey signs, do not walk uphill in the ski area when you know there are avalanche issues.

    Roof avalanches were a common site!!

    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Wet in the village by 10:30 hrs.

    52 cm at Nester's weather station by 12:30 Hrs.

    38.1 mm of precipitation recorded at 660 meters on Thursday.  81.0 mm recorded in Squamish.

    Slush in the river of Golden Dreams, almost a slurry!!

    83 cm of snow in Alpine Meadows by 13:00 hrs.

    Rain drops keep falling on my skis!!! Valley upload.

    Big picture from Thursday afternoon.


From Avalanche Canada MIN Reports:

Adit Ridge: Dec 31, 2018

Oboe: Jan 1, 2019

Elfin Area: Jan 3, 2019


From South Coast Touring:
Mickey Fabbiano
Elfin hut Update: Jan.3rd for the last 3 days there has been no propane (aka no heat in the hut or stoves) so bring your stoves if your coming up. On the 1st we were told the ranger left on the 30th (finger crossed he/her is back soon🤞🏼) Over night we got a good 2’ of snow with no sign of rain but will check back once we dig a pit and heavy winds. AvalancheCanada saying Extreme danger in the alpine it’s still coming down heavy if your planning on coming out this way. Play safe



Video Fridays:

Parapanter gets caught in a dust devil: Australia




ARTICLES:

Four skiers likely dead after avalanche near Tamokdalen: Norway

Avalanche Canada warns of extreme danger as snow piles up in B.C. & Alberta: Citizen

It wintered so hard at WB yesterday that lifts had to close: Daily Hive

Hwy 1 closes due to avalanche risk: Revelstoke/Golden

The weather has a lot to do with avalanches: Jackson Hole

Extreme avalanche risk in the North Shore Mountains: North Shore News