Snow will spread back into Western Washington and most of the Cascades by Tuesday afternoon with snow levels to the surface (3500 feet) grazing these areas with 4-7 inches of snow by Wednesday morning.  A very sharp cold front blasts through the Rockies on Wednesday/Thursday with snow showers breaking out in many areas of Wyoming as well as Northern Utah however amounts will generally be in the 2-5 inch range over the ski areas and possibly higher amounts East of the Divide especially on Interstate 80.  Colorado will see light snow Wednesday night (Central and Northern mountains) however the bulk of the moisture will be focused along the front range by Thursday morning with upslope helping areas such as Eldora and perhaps Loveland by late Thursday evening. Unfortunately amounts will not be much more than 2-5 inches.   High pressure takes grip in all areas of the West by this weekend and continues into the middle of next week when the Pacific Northwest gets active again. 

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Heavy rain is falling over all elevations of the Cascades bringing  a wet thick sludge over deep packed powder from the past week in the Northwest!  Rain will taper off by late today when a break in the action over the Northwest will finally settle in.  The good news is that most resorts in WA/OR/BC have very good base depths for this time of year. The models are not clear on the next front that will work it’s way into Seattle by late Tuesday bringing another round of light snow to the NW and eventually working down the CA coast on Wednesday and Thursday. Southern CA and the mountains in the Sierra (South favored) will likely see light to moderate snow by Thursday this week. 

The Wasatch of Utah, Tetons (light snow Wednesday) and most of Colorado (Along the Divide favored) will see light to moderate snow on Thursday.  The storm will bring much colder temperatures so orographics alone will help kick up some snow showers but primarily at the highest elevations. This will not be a major storm and the models are not clear as to it’s direct path. Much of the energy will be splitting apart and heading south into Southern California.  Scattered snow showers will continue at times throught the end of the week.   Updates will be posted under forecasts as things develop.   My early feeling is that areas in Summit County should see the highest amounts however might only be 3-6 inches by Thursday night.

Snow continued to fall in the Northwest during Thanksgiving with up to 7-10 additional inches over Crystal Mountain since 2PM yesterday.  Warmer air will move into the NW on Saturday and bring another round of heavy precipitation unfortunately in the form of rain at the base and a mix at upper elevations (1-2 inches of rain likely).  Moisture should continue into Sunday before a cold front passes later in the day into early next week lowering snow levles and bringing more snow to lower elevations. .

Rockies:  Light snow will continue to fall over the San Juans (1-3 inches) today with the Northern mountains only picking up 2-3 inches by early Sunday morning.  The Wasatch should see 2-4 inches by late Sunday.  High pressure dominates through midweek in the Rockies with no significant storms in sight in the 7 day period however the Northwest stays active so lets hope better snow chances by early the following week! 

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Powderchaser hits Solitude 11/19/2011 1st chair

Synopsis:

Heavy snow slammed the Cascades with Mount Baker and Crystal Mountain now open and reporting almost 3 feet in the past 3 days!  The Tetons also did very well in Wyoming as well as parts of Montana with over 15 inches in many locations and up to 20 inches at Jackson Hole Resort in the past 3 days!  The Utah’s Wasatch brought up to 9 inches in many locations as well as the upper elevations in Colorado near Steamboat. Most areas South of Steamboat received much less snow! The next 10 days looks very wet especially over the Cascades however high snow levels may bring rain to as high as mid mountain in the Northwest by Tuesday.

Rockies Forecast (WY, MT, CO, UT, NM,)   

Light snow will continue over Central and Southern Colorado, UT, and NM tonight  bringing a few inches to many locations by late PM Sunday. A second and stronger system moving out of the Southern Sierra late Sunday will bring another round of 3-5 inches to many areas on Monday/Tuesday however the highest amounts Will be over the San Juans. High pressure dominates through Thanksgiving day when the next splitting system dives moisture down the CA coast and another piece directly over the Wasatch, Tetons and Central Colorado for Thursday night into Friday.  The models indicate a 24 hour period of light to moderate snow so areas in UT and Colorado might see 5-10 inches just after Turkey Day!  (Friday AM to Sat AM).  The next best chance of snow in the Rockies (WY, ID, CO, UT) after That will be Sunday-Tuesday the following week (Nov 28, 29).

Northwest:

Epic week blasted the northern Cascades with over 30 inches of dry density snow in the past 72 hours.  Moisture continues next week from a continous stream of wet and warmer weather from Tuesday to Sunday with a small break late on Thanksgiving day. Rain at elevations below 5,000 feet is likey in the Cascades for a good portion of next week with lowering snow levels by Thursday.  The Olympics could see over 8 inches of moisture in the next 7 days creating flooding issues. The models are all showing continued moisture into the following week after the thanksgiving holiday so lets hope the snow levels remain lower for some additional epic conditions next weekend? Don’t expect to see the sun for 2 weeks!

Sierra:

Powder will blast the Central and Southern Sierra (Southern resorts near Lake Tahoe and South are favored), on Sunday and Sunday night with many areas picking up 5-10 inches. The next significant storm according to the models will come on Thanksgiving Day and again the following Sunday!  Conditions should be improving as next week rolls on for both Northern and Southern CA resorts with new snow in the forecast.

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