Wayne Flann Avalanche Blog: January 28, 2021

YESTERDAY:

Overcast in the am. Nice temps for snow making.

Good visibility despite the cloud cover.

Thin clouds in the am with some flurries. Snow transport with 25-45 KPH winds.

Powder turns in Blackcomb Glacier.

Sunny breaks in the afternoon.

Wednesday Jan 26, 2021. 15:00 Hrs. -8 with a 5-15 KPH ESE wind. -2 in the valley.

Wednesday afternoon.

All the precip is going to California.

Nice light in the afternoon.

Weather Observations for January 28, 2021 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2240 meters -10, Winds were 15-25 KPH NNE--Horstman Hut

2180 meters -9, Winds were 25-30 KPH E--Whistler Peak
1860 meters -8, Winds were 5-10 KPH S --Rendezvous

1835 meters -9, Winds were 5-10 KPH NNE--Round House

1650 meters -8, 1 cm in 12 Hrs, 2 cm in 24 Hrs, Base 223 cm --Pig Alley
1570 meters -8, trace in 12 Hrs, 1 cm in 24 Hrs, Base 153 cm--Catskinner

660 meters -5, Valley Temp, Max temp Yesterday was -1.1, 0.0 mm of precip yesterday.

As of 07:00 Hrs this am we have obscured skies, limited visibility and snowing lightly.

FORECAST:

Offshore low and weakening upper level trough will continue to send unsettled weather for this am in a South-South Westerly flow aloft. Some flurries this am. The FL will remain below surface. Weak ridging for the afternoon with a mix of sun and cloud. Dry and overcast for Friday, increasing cloud in the afternoon as another front reaches the mountains by Friday night with periods of light snow. Stronger frontal band arrives Saturday afternoon with periods of moderate snowfall. More snow forecasted to arrive on Sunday. Guesstimates: Trace-2 cm by Friday am, trace-1 cm by Saturday am, 8-12 cm by Sunday am, 15-25 cm by Monday am.

GOES IR image from this am.

Upper level trough will bring unsettled weather for this am, some flurries possible.

500 MB map for today.

Jet Stream Today.

Low will send clouds our way on Friday.

Low will bring periods of light snow for Saturday.

AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

An avalanche has killed a ski tourer on a closed area in the Pyrenees. Article below. Net Pic

Avalanche and complicated rescue from Cypress backcountry. Article below. Mark Johncox Pic

No new avalanches observed on Blackcomb yesterday.

Avalanche mitigation on Whistler yesterday produced some Sz 1 Sc soft slabs on steep lee terrain.

From Sea to Sky Advisory:

Avalanche Summary

On Tuesday and Wednesday, there were a few reports of natural and human-triggered size 1 avalanches, as well as a few size 1 explosives triggered wind slab avalanches in the alpine on Tuesday.

On Monday there were a few reports of size 1 human triggered dry loose avalanches on northeast aspects in the alpine.

On Sunday there were a few size 1 dry loose avalanches reported, as well as one size 2 explosives triggered cornice avalanche.

Snowpack Summary

10-20 cm of recent fresh snow sits on firm wind affected snow at upper elevations, on surface hoar in sheltered areas, on a melt-freeze crust below 1900 m, and on a sun crust on south-facing slopes. Recent winds have redistributed much of this new snow, creating wind slabs in leeward terrain, and stripping the new snow off of many windward slopes.

A crust from early December may be found around 200 cm deep in the snowpack. In shallow rocky areas, recent test results suggest that it may still be possible to trigger this layer. In deeper snowpack areas it has shown no recent results and appears to be unreactive in these areas.

INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS: