April 5, 2019

    YESTERDAY:

    Early morning light Thursday morning.

    Above the mid mountain cloud layer.

    Dense dry powder on the Horstman Glacier.

    Soft cord.

    Into the moist cloud, mid mountain cloud layer lifted to just above the tree line in the am.

    Eventually the mid mountain cloud layer dissipated near days end.

    Thursday afternoon.

    Cumulus cloud development, there were even a few sporadic flurries.

    Later in the afternoon.

    After sunset, which was at 19:47 Hrs.



Weather Observations for April 5, 2019, 2019 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters     -3, Winds were 45-60 KPH SE--Horstman Hut
2180 meters     -3, Winds were 50-65 KPH SE--Whistler Peak
1860 meters     -1, Winds were 15-35 KPH S--Rendevous
1835 meters     -1, Winds were 20-45 KPH SE--Round House
1650 meters    +1, 2 cm of new, 2 cm in 24 hrs, Base 226 cm--Pig Alley
1565 meters      0, 2 cm of new, 2 cm in 24 hrs, Base 162 cm--Catskinner

  660 meters    +3, Valley Temp, Max temp Yesterday was +14.3, 0.0 mm of precip recorded yest

   As of 07:00 Hrs this am we have overcast skies & variable visibility. Snowing lightly.


FORECAST:

A warm Pacific front will bring light precipitation to the area today in a Southwesterly Flow aloft. The FL will hover at around 1800 meters, dropping tonight to around 1000 meters as a trailing cold front pushes through.  Unfortunately the bulk of the precip will be South of our zone but maybe that is a good thing. A break between systems early Saturday morning before the next frontal band reaches our zone with light precipitation into early Sunday morning, with the FL hovering in the 1400 meter range. Some models have unsettled weather slated for Sunday but there is no consistency or agreement in the extended forecast. Time will tell, more on that as we get closer.  Going with unsettled weather with some showers in the mix. This pattern will likely extend into early next week. Guesstimates:10-20 cm in the alpine by Saturday morning, 10-15 cm in the alpine by Sunday morning, 5-10 cm by Monday morning.

    GOES IR image from this am.

    Low will send light precipitation our way today with warm temperatures.

    Fronts along the coast.

    Slightly cooler for Saturday.

    Low will still send weather our way on Sunday.

    Unsettled Monday.


    AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

    Na wet loose Sz 1 from Wednesday.

    Fresh wet loose from Thursday on Mt Currie.

    Closer look.

   Several  Sz 1 Na wet loose in Pooh Basin, Thursday afternoon.





    INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

    Cornices are still growing.

    Still working on the Horstman T-Bar Line.

    Powder early Friday morning on Horstman Glacier.

    A little wind affect on some dry cord.

    Visibility was challenging at times yesterday.

    Moderate  yesterday.

    Big Picture Thursday with several fronts in the making.



VIDEO FRIDAY:

Surfs Up: Iceland

Patroller's Night Mare: Runaway

Ski Patrol: Vail

Roof avalanche: Crested Butte

Snowmobile burial: Alaska

Massive Avalanche: Colorado



ARTICLES:

Heavy April Snowfall raises avalanche risk in Switzerland: Andermatt

Helicopter footage shows home encased in snow: Switzerland

Guides "underestimated the threat" ahead of avalanche that killed Photographer: Jones Pass, CO

Dangerous avalanche conditions expected ahead of Arctic Man event: Alaska

Canadian Avalanche Association Conference & AGM: May 6-May 10, 2019