Wasatch Weather Weenies

Spend some time in a deep mountain valley and chances are you will see quite a few clouds during the morning and/or afternoon that form along the mountain slope.  Such clouds are very common in the Inn Valley of Austria this time of year when the humidity in the valley is relatively high, but the skies are partly or mostly cloudy.  I spied such a cloud this morning as I skinned up the Patscherkofel for my morning workout.  The Inn Valley runs east-west through the northern Alps near Innsbruck, which means the south facing slopes of the Nordkette are strongly heated by the sun.  In contrast, with the sun relatively low in the sky this time of year, the north facing slopes on the south side of the Inn Valley are in the shade or receive weak solar heating.  As a result, a strong upslope flow develops along the slopes of the Nordkette and, in some cases, there can be a low level, thermally driven flow that cuts across the valley from south to north (note that t...

One of the most impressive meteorological characteristics of the Alps is how different the weather can be on the south and north sides of the Alpine Crest.  So far this winter, the north side has gotten much of the snowfall and the south side has suffered.  That will change on Friday when a low-pressure system tracks across France and drives flow with a southerly component into the Alps.  The forecast below rom the German ICON model of mean precipitation rate for the hour ending at 1600 UTC Friday shows extensive precipitation on the south side of the Alps (purple indicates snow).  Although there is some spillover across the Alpine crest, the decline in precipitation as one moves northward is very abrupt, with no precipitation forecast for the northern Alps including areas north of Innsbruck (red dot) and immediately south of Zurich and Salzburg.  Those areas will experience Foehn, a downslope wind.  Source: wxcharts.com I won't be doing this, but it...

One of the neat things about an extended stay in the Alps is the opportunity to ski some places that you might never consider going to on a vacation.  One of my colleagues at the University of Innsbruck invited Andrea and I to join her on a quick trip this afternoon up the Glungezerbahn.  You'd never find a ski area like this in North America given the odd arrangement of lifts and the very limited number of pistes.  First, there is a new 10-person gondola that takes you from just above the village of Tulfes to about 1560 meters.  Then there is a T-bar that goes up another 500 vertical meters (1600 vertical feet).  Yes, a T-bar.  It has a hell of a view.    Then there is a double chair going to the top of the lift served terrain.  There are a few "pistes" serviced by the double char, but for all intents and purposes, the intermediate T-bar services a single run. Andrea ran some laps, while Iva and I skinned from the Halsmarter to...

If I remember correctly, my colleague Lance Bosart, who has been a Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at the University at Albany for 50 years (see this American Scientist article ), considers -40ºC the "creme-de-la-creme" of cold at at 850 mb.   The NAM forecast valid 1800 UTC 29 January (10 AM CST Tuesday) has a small patch of sub -40 850 mb air over northwest Minnesota.  No point in specifying F or C since -40 is the magic temperature at which the two scales converge (i.e., -40ºF = -40ºC).   Glad to be watching it from half a world away.  For Utahn's, be grateful you are on the western side of the continental divide.  

We took a sightseeing trip today up to Seefeld, which will host the 2019 Nordic World Championships in just a couple of weeks. It's a pretty village, although the main core near the bahnhof (train station) is pretty touristy, with some expensive restaurants and a few trinket shops that are as bad as anything you'll find in the U.S. We went for a walk and found some cheaper and better dining options off the main strip.  Seefeld is at 1180 meters (3870 ft) elevation and has an impressive snowpack this year.  It was overcast when we arrived in the morning, but we got some sun breaks in the early afternoon before we headed back to Innsbruck.  Although I didn't bring my skate skis with me for lack of room, I hope to rent and get in a few skates.  The train from Innsbruck to Seefeld is free if you have skis and the track starts perhaps a half kilometer or so from the train station, although those trails will be closed for a time for the World Champ...

One advantage of living in Innsbruck is the close proximity of the mountains for ski tours.  I haven't slapped on the skins since arriving here due to the late arrival of our bags, so I thought I'd get a workout in yesterday at one of the local ski resorts.  In general, the resorts here are friendly to tourers, with most simply asking you stay to the side of the trail or follow a designated route, and that you ski during operating hours to avoid issues with grooming equipment, especially winch cats.  It's not powder skiing, but for a quickly after or during the work day, it's a good option.  Yesterday afternoon I went to the Patscherkofel ski area for a couple of reasons.  One is that we can see it from our apartment. The other is that it lies at the end of the bus line that is about a 5 minute walk from our apartment, so it is quick and easy to get to if one is aiming to minimize travel time.  Further, that bus line is free if you are carrying skis....

Our skis finally arrived on Monday night.  Tuesday was bluebird, so we took the bus up to the Axamer Lizum ski area to get in some laps. For some bus and train lines here, if you are carrying skis, there is no charge.  It's a nice concept and a good way to encourage transit.  No scanning of cards either, which makes life easier when you are getting on and off the bus.  Axamer Lizum is in the mountains southeast of Innsbruck.  From near the summit, one looks over the Inn Valley, Innsbruck, and the Nordkette range.  Elsewhere on a day like yesterday, views were a dime a dozen, with incredible terrain in all directions, as seems to be the case throughout the Alps.  If you look closely in the picture below (click to enlarge) you can find a mountain hut just left of center near a patch of sun.  Axamer Lizum is a modest sized resort by Austrian standards with several lifts, perhaps 10 or 15 major pistes, and about 2500 vertical feet. ...

Steenburgh winter, that magic period that begins when the Alta-Collins snow depth reaches 100 inches and ends on February 10 when the influence of the sun begins its seasonal "ramp up" in earnest on south aspects and eventually all aspects, began yesterday at 1 PM MST. Steenburgh winters are the creme-de-la-creme of backcountry powder skiing.  They occur when there is a magic overlap between a deep snowpack and the low-angle sun.  There can be good skiing before and after Steenburgh winter, sometimes very good, but powder snobs know there's nothing like years when there is a deep snowpack and a low-angle sun to potentially enable aggressive lines to be skied as powder persists on all aspects when the avalanche hazard allows.  Steenburgh winters have been rare in recent years.  There was a brief appearance during the 2016/17 season, but I think the last extended Steenburgh winter was in 2010/11.  Looks like you will have nearly three weeks of it this year....

With our skis still MIA, yesterday we worked for part of the day and then took a break in the early afternoon to hike up to Hungerburg and ride the Seegrube tram up to the Seegrube Restaurant above Innsbruck.  Views of Innsbruck, the Inn Valley, and the surrounding mountains were spectacular. The ski area at the top was still closed due to avalanche hazard.  This after several days of snowfree weather.  Nevertheless, the ski tours were out and had gotten some tracks.  The were even pushing into steep terrain.  Note the black spot in the middle of the bowl below and just to lookers left of the steep couloir.  I don't know if I've ever witnessed a ski area closed for avalanche danger being skied by tourers.  I suspect the area is open today.  From a distance, it looks like you are getting a pretty good storm in Salt Lake.  Nine inches on the Collins stake from 4 to 8 AM will get your attention, even from Austria.  Enj...

When we arrived in Munich last Wednesday, we learned that our two duffel bags made it, but our two ski bags had been "expedited" by Delta to Amsterdam.  Wonderbar! It is now Sunday and we still do not have our ski bags.  Typically when I fly for a ski vacation, I carry on enough clothes and ski paraphernalia, including my boots, to rent a pair of demo boards and ski if my bags are lost.  In this case, however, since we have other responsibilities, that wasn't possible.  We had other items we needed to take on the plane.  While we were smart enough to bring some winter clothes, we couldn't bring it all and certainly not enough to ski. As such, we've been stuck in Purgatory.  The closest I've been to skiing since arriving in Innsbruck. This wasn't an issue for a couple of days.  We weren't planning on skiing right after we arrived as we needed to get "established" for the long haul in Innsbruck.  We kept ourselves busy getting settl...

What can I say.  The Steenburgh effect just keeps on giving. Since leaving Utah a couple of days ago, the Wasatch Range has gotten pounded.  I'm not paying close attention to the weather there, but I have gotten messages thanking me for leaving and did notice that Alta's web site is reporting 21 inches in the past 48 hours.  Meanwhile, the northern Alps were coming unglued prior to our arrival.  Too much of a good thing.  The Steenburgh effect giveth here as well as a break was sorely needed to allow for transportation routes to reopen and the avy danger to subside.  Since we've arrived, it's been partly to mostly sunny skies in Innsbruck with just a few spits of snow (although there were a few inches at some mountain locations last night).  I think the locals are thanking me for now, but they might run me out of town if this continues for a few more days.  Meanwhile, I "moved" into my temporary home at the University of Innsbruck.  Thi...

Andrea and I arrived in Innsbruck yesterday for the start of my Fulbright Professorship at the University of Innsbruck.  The stoke was high as we flew into Munich and then shuttled to Innsbruck, which allowed us to start in the plains and proceed into the Alps in spectacular fashion.  Thanks to recent storms, the mountains were pasted white and we had about as much fun as you can have crammed into a shuttle bus. Approaching Innsbruck from the east We were very pleased to find the apartment we rented site unseen exceeds expectations.  It was recommended by a previous Fulbright professor, but I think he undersold it.  It is surprisingly spacious and has a nice Tirolian flair, especially in the bedroom where there are beautiful wooden built-in cabinets and beams.  We also have some nice vistas from the windows and balcony.  Looking south at the Patscherkofel ski area, where Franz Klammer famously won the Olympic downhill gold medal in 1976.  No...

Great examples of persistent and diurnal cold pools exist presently over northern Utah. The persistent cold pool exists over the Great Salt Lake Basin, including the Salt Lake Valley, where widespread fog and stratus are present, as illustrated by yesterday afternoons modis imagery.  It is sometimes difficult to discern fog and stratus from snow in visible imagery, but the smooth nature of the coverage and the inability to see the Great Salt Lake are dead giveaways.  Modis Imagery 13 January 2019 One can also use multiple satellite channels to detect fog and stratus, as is done in the image below for 0915 UTC (0215 MST) this morning.  Note the area of white covering the Great Salt Lake Basin, as well as the Uinta Basin to the east.  Source: NWS Aviation Weather Center The sounding from the Salt Lake City International Airport shows a relatively deep cold pool extending from the surface to 814 mb (6250 ft).  The temperature then increases 6ºC in a s...

It has been a remarkable start to 2019 in the northern Alps where snowfall has been frequent and heavy, including in low elevation areas in the Alpine foreland (i.e., foothills).  We'll focus here on the Loser-Altaussee ski area southeast of Salzburg and indicated by the red thumbnail below.  Source: Google Maps The lift-served terrain in the area extends from 850 to 1800 meters (2800 to 5900 feet). Source:  https://www.loser.at/ Snow depths being reported for the resort on bergfex.com this morning are 250 cm (100 inches) in the valley and 490 cm (nearly 200 inches) on the upper elevation.  I'm not sure how good those numbers are, so it is worth an eye test.  Here's a shot from the camera at the top of the resort as the sun set this afternoon.  Deep.  The ski area is shut down due to high avalanche hazard.  Serious avalanche hazard.  Source: https://www.loser.at From a meteorological perspective, the driver of all this ...