Posted on 01/11/2010 7:16:46 PM PST by NormsRevenge
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) – The Vancouver Winter Games countdown shifts from months to days on Tuesday just as a "Pineapple Express" weather front has slammed into the Pacific Northwest dampening Olympic fever.
As athletes and construction workers were pushing full speed ahead with their final preparations, VANOC officials faced their worst nightmare on Monday as unseasonably high temperatures and rain lashed the Vancouver area.
Weather fronts that bring warm, wet conditions from the Pacific ocean during the winter are often described as Pineapple Expresses by local forecasters.
With just one month to go until the February 12th opening ceremonies, the spring like conditions, which are expected to remain in the area through the weekend, could pose a threat to several Olympic venues.
Cypress Mountain, host for freestyle skiing and snowboard competitions, was closed on Monday due to heavy rain and snow making halted as temperatures in Vancouver climbed to a balmy 11 degrees Celsius (52 Fahrenheit).
Work crews at the popular resort, located just 12 kilometers outside of Vancouver, have been busy stockpiling snow at higher elevations and said snow making would resume as soon as temperatures dropped.
Whistler, about 125 km from Vancouver and venue for all alpine skiing, cross-country and sliding events, was also facing a soggy week with rain and temperatures well above freezing set to remain in place until Sunday.
"We're putting everything we've learned and planned for regarding weather contingency into practice at the outdoor venues in order to be ready for the Games," said Tim Gayda, VANOC's vice president of sport in a statement.
Crews have been preparing since the first snowfalls hit Whistler and Cypress mountains, according to Gayda.
"We're confident these courses will be in world-class shape when the
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Solution: Hold the Winter Olympics in Florida!
LOL.. Excellent back-up site!
Heck, it was practically tropical here today. I went out to put some birdseed and was walking around on my front porch barefooted.
Heck, the warmer it is, the fewer wood pellets I burn, so no skin off my nose!
in 1988 I was in Calgary for the last ten days of the Olympics...I watched the 120 meter team ski jump wearing a t-shirt as it was 55-degrees...they called it the Chinook Winds...
The Chinese wouldn’t let a little Pinapple Express stop them. They would seed the clouds with 5 trillion tons of ice crystals and load up 200,000 snow machines on the ground and 100 snow machines rigged to troop transport aircraft.
The Chinese would just conquer Tibet for a backup site.
Oh wait, they already did.
Chinooks ARE what they used to be called.....it was an INDIAN name! Grew up hearing it used to describe unseasonably warm winds.
Andrea Schoepp....Team Germany
At least the curling venue will be open :)
They are warm dry winds from the mountains
The Pineapple Express is warm very wet line of rain from the southern pacific... Like a warm fire hose starting in Hawaii and aimed right at the northwest.
AAHHHHH! Thanks....
It’s during these times when we get our NW winter river flooding from all the rain over many days, and all the loss of snowpack.
It wouldn’t be good news for me if I was hosting an Oympic games in a couple weeks. But hopefully they’ll get enough back by then.
It HAS been pretty mild out on the West Coast this winter! I had to scrape the windshield a few mornings in December, but that’s it. Figures, ‘cuz this winter I’m all prepared with snow shovel, winter tires, etc.
Only a few events at these Olympics are at risk. There’s obviously no effect on indoor events (speed skating, figure skating, curling, etc.), and most of the alpine and nordic events are located around Whistler, which is about 60 miles inland, away from the warming ocean.
So the only real problem will be the outdoor events near Vancouver - i.e., the snowboarding on Cypress Mountain. The recent mild weather has the snow up there pretty slushy right now, much like sloppy spring conditions.
We’re getting it now, this week and in the days to come.
It has been a very good winter. I don’t think this one is supposed to be as bad as it’s been even in recent years past, but it’s probably still not good news for ski resorts.
Crap!
I just bought a snow blower after being stranded over the Christmas Holiday!
Good news though...It sits fully fueled and just growling for snow to eat come March and April!
I live in Tacoma area. The mountains in BC and Washington had some snow early, but then a cold dry spell. Now, it got rainy, and then freezing at night. I went night skiing last week at a place called alpental, it was like a block of ice! Worst snow conditions out here in about 6 or 7 years.
Doesn’t look like Idaho, Montana, or Wyoming are much better this year. Bummer, I wanna ski...
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