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SOME STORIES ABOUT MAJOR WEATHER, STORM WARNINGS, PINEAPPLE EXPRESSES, AND .......

#1
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11/20/09 at 5:31pm
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I can't recall the year, but the monsoon from Hawaii called the pineapple express was merging with Bering Sea cold air and it snowed for 2 weeks. not these fast moving waves of a day or so.

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#2
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11/20/09 at 5:58pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by davluri View Post

I can't recall the year, but the monsoon from Hawaii called the pineapple express was merging with Bering Sea cold air and it snowed for 2 weeks. not these fast moving waves of a day or so.


I spent most of my life in the Sierras & this phenomenom that you mentioned was always the formula for the "Perfect Storm" in my mind.  Off the top of my head there were stand out periods of huge snow from this mix in 1968, 73, 83, 86, 91 & 96.  I could be a little off here, but I bet Tony Crocker has the data.  The timing has to be perfect for the mix, that cold Gulf of Alaska air has to hit the moist pacific flow just right or you can get deluged with rain to the high elevations.
JF

"Apparently, a person who dives headfirst down an icy cliff wearing a spandex jumpsuit is supposed to celebrate with a nice glass of tea."

David Fehrety on Bode Millers 60 minutes interview

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#3
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11/20/09 at 6:01pm
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I've skied the Wasatch a lot, but the hardest I've ever seen is snow was New Year's Day at Mt. Bohemia (way up on the Keweenaw Peninsula of the UP) 2008. By early afternoon most people had freaked out and left for fear of being stuck there. The lack of any humans whatsoever combined with the near whiteout visibility was surreal. I felt like a big old owl flying low through the trees.

I also remember being at Mt. Batchelor in the mid 90's when it was really nuking. Sadly, you had to straightline everything because the flatness coupled with the deep snow negated turning.
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#4
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11/20/09 at 6:24pm
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I was at Mt. Hood , timberline lodge in 1965 Christmas time working as a busboy and skiing and it started raining on 10 feet of snow and melted masses of it.....skiing sucked in it and the snow was going away.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 4ster View Post


....The timing has to be perfect for the mix, that cold Gulf of Alaska air has to hit the moist pacific flow just right or you can get deluged with rain to the high elevations.
JF


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#5
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11/20/09 at 6:44pm
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1 Big storm(s) in Central Oregon was 91. Snow on the ground from Nov.-April. It was scary deep on the hill. Next 2 days are calling for +30",okie-dokie.
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#6
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11/20/09 at 7:08pm
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Alyeska 72? way pre-tram.  We got nuked like 3 or 4 feet.  A chinook (high winds and rain moved right in, the mt was closed.  It immediately went from 40 something and rain to -20 and wind, the mt is still closed. 

After being closed nearly a week it opened up in the mid 30's.  The mountain was perfectly smooth and firm with a touch of corn on top, it was "race ready".  We had a world cup GS up there, this storm made the entire mountain was better, you could go anywhere as fast as you wanted.  These are not the conditions you would associate with the Chugach, but that day was epic.  We did pay a very high price for this as the winter went along, snow would hardly stick on top that layer. 

Have skied a lot of very deep snow in over 50 years of skiing, but only 1 day like that.

"Politics is the 2nd oldest profession in the world and it bares a close resemblance to the 1st."     Will Rogers

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