Happy Thursday!
It is The Squamish Chief's print paper day. Denise, who has been with the paper for close to 25 years, has been out and about delivering it to local homes, community boxes and retailers.
Give her a wave if you see our van.
Luckily, today has been a beauty of a day so far.
The Squamish weather forecast is calling for it to be mainly sunny again today.
The wind will be blowing from the north 20 km/h, except 50 gusting to 70 over southern sections this morning.
The wind will become light near noon.
We will see a high of 19 C and a low of 5 C overnight.
Sunrise was at 6:16 a.m.; sunset will be at 8:09 p.m.
The UV index is set to rise to 5, or moderate today.
It has been a long while since we have had to think about the UV index.
As a refresher, the higher the UV index number, the stronger the sun's rays, and the greater the need to take sun safety precautions.
In Canada, the UV index ranges from 0 to 11+.
Environment Canada warns that when the UV index is 3 or higher, you should protect your skin as much as possible.
- Did you know: Window glass does not provide full UV protection. It filters out UV-B but not UV-A. You can still get a sunburn. It just takes longer. (From Environment Canada.)
April showers are still possible for the weekend.
B.C. extremes
Yesterday's hot spot in all of B.C. was Bella Coola, which saw a high of 20.6 C, according to Environment Canada data.
It was also the hot spot in all of Canada.
The high at Squamish Airport yesterday was 19.8 C.
The coldest spot in B.C. on April 16 was Burns Lake (in the north-western-central interior), which dipped to -8.4 C.
The coldest spot in Canada yesterday was Alert, NU, which dipped to -30.5 C.
Moon phase
The moon is in its waning gibbous phase.
"The term waning means decreasing, and the term gibbous means 'humped-back.' Therefore, this phase is called waning gibbous because the surface area of the moon that you see is decreasing and the shape of the lit-up part of the moon looks like a hump-back," reads the Kopernik Observatory & Science Center site.
The moon's illumination is currently 81.29%, meaning that is the percentage of the moon illuminated by the sun.
It is currently located in the constellation of Scorpio, according to phasesmoon.com.
The moon will rise at 12:51 and set at 8:01 a.m.
Seawater temp
According to seatemperature.info, the water temperature in Howe Sound today is 10.5 C.
April average water temperature in Howe Sound is 9.7 C, the minimum temperature is 7.3 C, and the maximum is 13.8 C, according to the site.
Backcountry avalanche forecast
Today, according to avalog.co, the alpine avalanche rating for our region is moderate, the treeline rating is low, and the below treeline rating is low.
"Cornices are becoming weak during spring and are prone to sudden failure. Loose wet avalanches will be likely as the surface crust softens."
Learn more about spring snowpack conditions here.
The advice for today from Avalog.co:
- Avoid travelling on slopes below cornices.
- Back off slopes as the surface becomes moist or wet with rising temperatures.
- A moist or wet snow surface, pinwheeling, and natural avalanches are all indicators of a weakening snowpack.
- Avalanche activity is unlikely when a thick melt-freeze crust is present on the snow surface.
Allergens
According to Aerobiology Research Laboratories data, this is the pollen count today in our region:
Pollen: High
Spores: Low
Today's Top allergens
Birch (High)
Cedar, Cypress, Juniper, Thuja (Moderate)
All Fungal Spores (Low)
Stuff you should know
Got old batteries?
If you have a baggy of dead batteries lying around, it is their time to depart.
The District is reminding residents that curbside battery collection is on the wee of April 21 to 25/
"Take advantage of this pilot program to recycle your batteries responsibly and help keep harmful chemicals out of the landfill," the muni says in a social media post.
To prepare your batteries for collection, follow these simple steps:
→ Place acceptable batteries into clear, sealable plastic bags.
→ On your regular collection day, place the sealed battery bags on top of your recycling tote.
Battery collection will take place on your regular garbage and organics collection day that week. Be sure to leave your batteries curbside, place on top of your recycling tote. To learn more, please visit squamish.ca/battery-recycling.
Reduce, reuse, recycle
The District reminds locals that Squamish DOX Recycling, located at 40446 Government Road, is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The recycle hub accepts a variety of recyclable materials, including: glass, flexible plastics, foam packaging, paper and cardboard, containers (plastic, metal, and paper).
Live view of the Stawamus Chief ⬇️.
