Presented below are links to resources and information for weather, mountain weather, and avalanche and snowpack information that you may find useful following completion of this course. Some resources fall into more than one category.
We do not expect you to remember the URLs, but in the quiz you will be tested on the resource details, and the category or categories that it falls into. (N.B. Questions on the information shown in this learning goal will not appear on the midterm or final exam.)
| Resource | Description | Weather Resource | Mountain Weather Resource | Avalanche & Snowpack Resource |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National and UBC model forecast maps | Maps you have been looking at in this course, from UBC and Canadian government models, for various variables/domains. (user: student, pswd: weather) | ✔ | ✔ | |
| UBC Weather Forecast Maps and Meteograms | Weather forecast maps for domains covering BC and Western Canada, and meteograms for single BC locations. The NWP models outputting these forecasts are run every day at UBC. | ✔ | ✔ | |
| ECCC/AC mountain weather discussion, models, satellite, and radar | An excellent resource from Environment and Climate Change Canada and Avalanche Canada. Fun to read mountain weather discussion, and various weather maps in the right side menu. | ✔ | ✔ | |
| MeteoBlue weather forecast maps and time heights | A great interface showing model output from a US national centre model. Pick fields to overlay. Click on the map for a time-height plot for any point. | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Tropical Tidbits Weather Forecast Maps | From the Regions button at lower left, choose 'Northwest US'. Then you can select from different models, and different weather fields to display. | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Satellite Imagery | An extensive resource of visible, IR, and water vapour satellite imagery for different domains covering the entire globe. Some model forecasts too. | ✔ | ||
| Satellite Map (Visible/Infrared blend) | Visible and IR blended satellite image covering Canada, America, and the Eastern Pacific. | ✔ | ||
| Visible Satellite Map | Visible Satellite Map of Western Canada and US. | ✔ | ||
| Surface Weather Station Observations | The Mesowest site gives you real-time or recent weather observations from multiple networks. This link is centred on BC. | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Regional Radar | A blended view of multiple radar sources in Southern BC and Washington State. | ✔ | ||
| Canada Radar | ECCC radar site with national blended radar that can be zoomed into smaller regional displays. | ✔ | ||
| Avalanche Forecasts | Avalanche forecasts, snow pit data, and conditions reports from Avalanche Canada. | ✔ | ||
| Wayne Flann Avalanche Blog | Recent snowpack and avalanche observations. Also some armchair weather forecasting. | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Facebook South Coast Touring group | Recent snowpack and avalanche observations. | ✔ | ||
| Whistler Webcams | Webcams from the Whistler region and other nearby mountain ranges, and weather station data at the bottom of the page. | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Whistler Snow Report | Latest conditions from Whistler Mountain, including valley and alpine forecast. Other resorts have their own similar pages, just search for their websites. | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Snow Pillow Data | Snow pillow plots giving snow-water equivalent for locations in BC. For the most recent data you may have to download the csv file. | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Satellite, radar, and NWP model output | Another source of satellite, radar, and NWP model output, from University of Northern BC. | ✔ | ||
| Satellite, radar, surface observations, analyses, and model forecasts | Satellite, radar, surface observations, analyses, and NWP model output, from NCAR. | ✔ | ||
| NWP model output | Another source of NWP model output from UW. | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Point-forecast meteograms and time-heights | Choose any lat/lon and it will generate forecast plots for a variety of variables at many levels in the atmosphere. Good for looking at cloud heights and freezing levels. | ✔ | ||
| COMET/UCAR Meteorology Modules | A very good educational (not forecast) resource for weather, mountain and avalanche information. You must sign up to view/take these modules. | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Guide to Snow Crystals | A plethora of educational (not forecast) information on snow crystals, for help with identifying and understanding. | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Backcountry Ascender avalanche education game | An educational (not forecast) resource/game for increasing your avalanche knowledge. | ✔ | ||
| Cherry Bowl avalanche rescue simulation | An educational (not forecast) story, very well told, showcased through an interactive website. | ✔ |
Figure Credits: Stull: Roland Stull, West: Greg West, Howard: Rosie Howard