April 2, 2021

      YESTERDAY:

      Sunrise Thursday was at 06:48 Hrs. -1 with a 20-50 KPH ESE wind.

      09:00 Hrs. -2 with a 15-30 KPH ESE wind.

      Ceiling dropped quickly by 09:30 Hrs.

      Snowing at 10:30 Hrs -3 with a 25-40 KPH SE wind. Snowing for the webcam shutdown.

      Whistler Bowl Thursday afternoon.

Weather Observations for April 2, 2021 taken at 06:00 Hours.

2180 meters      -7, Winds were 30-40 KPH ESE--Whistler Peak

1835 meters      -5, Winds were  15-25 KPH S--Round House

1650 meters      -3,  0 cm in 12 Hrs, trace in 24 Hrs, Base 280 cm? --Pig Alley

  660 meters     +1, Valley Temp, Max temp Yesterday was +10.5, 0.0 mm of precip yesterday.

      Sunrise this am was at 06:46 Hrs. Broken cloud and variable visibility.

FORECAST:

Unsettled weather for today as a weakening trough slides by our zone in a Westerly flow aloft.  Mostly cloudy for today with some breaks later in the afternoon with the FL rising to around 1200 meters. Later today the flow will switch to South Westerly as a weak upper low sends a weak warm front our way for early Saturday am with periods of light precip. The FL could spike to 1500 meters, dropping back down to surface by Sunday am.  A trailing cold front will push through Saturday afternoon and should exit the region by early Sunday am. Ridging will bring unsettled weather on Sunday with a nice amount of sun. Ridge strengthens on Monday with nice weather into Wednesday afternoon. Guesstimates: trace-2 cm by Saturday am, 5-10 cm by Sunday am, 0 cm by Monday am, 0 cm by Tuesday am.

      GOES IR image from this am.

       Weakening trough for today with mostly cloudy skies in the am, unsettled in the pm.

      Westerly flow aloft this am, switching tonight to South Westerly.

    Low will send a warm front with trailing cold front on Saturday. Light precip and moderate winds.

      High pushes back into our zone on Sunday.

.       Cloudy Sunday am with unsettled weather by the afternoon.

     AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:

      Skier survives avalanche in Alaska. Article below.                                                       CAAC Photo

     No new avalanches to report on Whistler or Blackcomb and no more mountain images:(

From Sea to Sky Avalanche Advisory:

Avalanche Summary

Avalanche reports from the past few days have been limited to thin wind slabs to size 1.5 in the alpine. 

On Tuesday, reports indicated that small loose wet avalanches occurred from steep rocky terrain. Cornices also became weak and failed with daytime warming. No slabs were reported from the slopes below. 

Snowpack Summary

Snow from earlier in the week has been redistributed by southwest winds at upper elevations.

The recent snow sits above a variety of old snow surfaces comprising mostly of a widespread melt-freeze crust with the exception of high north-facing terrain where it may be sitting on small surface hoar crystals. A melt-freeze crust exists at treeline and wet snow is likely found below 1100 m.

Cornices along ridgelines are large, and the likelihood of them failing will increase when the sun comes out.

      INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:

      Front arrived just before 10:00 Hrs Thursday morning.

      Green lake Breakup.

      Brightened up around noon. +8 in the valley.

      By 15:00 Hrs it was a nice afternoon.

     Weekend Chutes, nice light in the afternoon.

   

FROM SEA TO SKY MIN REPORTS:

Rainbow Peak-19 mile creek: March 31, 2021

VIDEOS:

When Ski Patrollers take on the mountain: SMR

Spring Skiing-A matter of timing: Montana

ARTICLES:

Skier survives avalanche in the crater of Mt Edgecumbe: Alaska

Avalanches still likely in Juneau area, even while ski area is closed: Alaska

Close calls with avalanches and the Ensuing Social Media Comment Superstorm: Snowbrains