Could be a good start to the season.
https://snowbrains.com/5000-mile-lo...orecast-drop-28-80-snow-whistler-next-7-days/
https://snowbrains.com/5000-mile-lo...orecast-drop-28-80-snow-whistler-next-7-days/
I wouldn't call snow-forecast.com as a reliable indicator of snowfall IMHO.Meh. That's the peak-altitude forecast. For actual skiable snow, the mid-mountain forecast is what you need to go by, and it shows typical pre-season mixed-precipitation.
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Yeah unfortunately that's the way they come. Would the below EC 5 day snow accum forecast be better?Those "snow accumulation" forecasts show no local detail and no breakdown by freezing level
Great! I would love to be skiing every week of the season, so well done to yourself for getting in that position. However local knowledge doesn't allow you to make better predictions. I let this statement from a friend from another forum say it.I've skied Whistler every week of every winter for the last 15 years and I actually think snow-forecast.com isn't that bad.
What locals do have is a knowledge of how the weather is going to impact the resort (and where the best powder is)Although sometimes people ask what "locals" think the weather will be like, most (farmers, police, guides) will use the same sort of forecasting tools every else does. Locals don't have a sixth sense that can allow them to know what the weather will be like that others don't have.
To determine the snow level, I personally use 850hPa (1500m) temperature forecasts, because that provides the best outlook for temperature, rather than the raw freezing level charts. Like I said, if you want the simple FL from snow-forecast.com, go ahead. I'm not stopping you. Just know that the charts are not to be relied on. Better to trust proper charts or a meterologist.That pretty map tells me nothing about freezing levels at Whistler. I am not an experienced specialist who can dig through the "weather model sites" that you mention. What altitude are those snow accumulation forecasts for? "100 inches of snowfall along peaks of the BC Coast" is pretty useless if it's raining mid-mountain, and that amount of skiable snow falling mid-mountain in October is unheard of.
I'm happy to be proven wrong (we'll know next week), but for the moment I think y'all are a tad over-excited for nuttin.
Definitely, avy blogs are a great source of info.I find the best weather info for Whistler and Sea to Sky corridor is the Wayne Flann Avalance Blog
updated most days through the season
Yeah they aren't known for their very cold temperatures, however they do have a massive impact on snowfall, even if the snow is not very good quality. Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada got dumped on by atmospheric rivers last season, maybe it is the PNW's turn.The atmospheric rivers that bring huge amounts of moisture are usually too warm. Strong storms out of the Gulf of Alaska bring good snow to the PNW. The maritime climate is always iffy. Powder one week, r̶a̶i̶n̶ Cascade clear flake the next week, Cascade concrete (or Garibaldi glop) the week after that is no surprise.
This year looks like an early start IMO, from a forecaster's perspective. I would be interested in your opinion, as you live in the region?Wow looks like jellybeans was right and I was quite wrong, but happily so. It's dumping snow all the way down to the village in Whistler. I guess I've been traumatized by too many early season disappointments to allow myself to get my hopes up, so am always looking for the dark cloud that is attached to any silver lining!!!
All that said, what usually happens is that it warms up a week later and gets washed away by our PNW rain, so that we're still skiing on cement with exposed rocks and dirt right up until Christmas.
The atmospheric rivers that bring huge amounts of moisture are usually too warm. Strong storms out of the Gulf of Alaska bring good snow to the PNW. The maritime climate is always iffy. Powder one week, r̶a̶i̶n̶ Cascade clear flake the next week, Cascade concrete (or Garibaldi glop) the week after that is no surprise.
Yeah, they aren't really that warm. And it gave Tahoe an amazing season last year.And yet, somehow we usually manage to have a winter and ski season from mid-late November through April. Go figure, eh? Why the Eeyore worldview? We've got it pretty good all in all.