Very little snow fell over the Northern Rockies last night as a weak low pressure system is now dropping South into the San Juans where 3-6 inches will fall this afternoon through evening. Areas favored by Southwest Winds like Silverton, Durango, Wolf Creek will see the most snow.  Tonight, winds shift to the Northeast producing upslope flow into Southern Colorado.  That will effectively shut down most snow over the San Juans and perhaps give a short blast of powder for Monarch. 

Stay tuned to daily updates!

•Heavy snow just broke out in the Park City area as well as the Snowbasin, Powder, Alta, Snowbird, and Solitude resorts with 3 inch per hour snowfall intensities. Little Cottonwood is closing at 8:30 PM tonight so access tomorrow will be slow! If you want to chase snow my suggestion is to hit the Canyons on Thursday if you are in Park City, and also consider any of the resorts in Big Cottonwood Canyon for the morning! I sometimes chase all 3 in the same day! Ski Big cottonwood until 11AM and then head to Alta or Snowbird for the openings of steeper terrain. You will see 14 inches tonight and another 4-8 tomorrow during the day. Heavy snow will re-develop Thursday night under SW flow bringing UT resorts to over 35 inches by Saturday morning. Southern Utah will do well with the Thursday night storm so look for deep powder at Brian Head!  Best days to ski Utah are Thursday, Friday! Saturday will be new openings from terrain previously closed! Snow quality will fit the EPIC criteria so if you have any sick days now is time to use them!

Colorado Update

•Light snow will develop tonight especially near Steamboat and turn heavy by daybreak!  The winds are Westerly early in the storm cycle which will favor Steamboat, Beaver Creek, and to a slightly lesser degree resorts from Vail and East (Still we see deep dumpage).  My pick for Thursday’s storm ski day would be Steamboat or Beaver Creek however the Northern fringes will do better.  Very heavy snowfall expected in all central and northern mountain locations through Thursday night (11-18 inches in many locations).  NOAA is calling for SW winds which would favor Crested Butte however my call is Westerly bringing I-70 closer to the eye of the storm! Thursday PM and Friday AM will be very deep at most resorts along I-70 and North.

•Secondary Low develops over the Wasatch Thursday night with North Winds bringing another 8-12 inches to many mountain locations through Friday.  Colorado will see heavy snow develop again on Friday through Friday night with resorts from Aspen to Telluride favored!  The low kicks south into the 4 corners however North Winds are not great for Wolf Creek but fantastic for Telluride and Snowmass!  Resorts along I-70 will see moderate snow while the Aspen area and perhaps Telluride see higher amounts.  Best day to ski the deep on storm #2 is on Friday PM and Saturday AM.

I caught a sneak powder day at Snowbird today with light snow on the front side of the mountain and a full on blizzard with 2-3 inch per hour snowfall on the backside of Mineral Basin!  Most folks stayed on the front side due to poor visability on the back.  Those that stayed in Mineral  before the lifts closed at 11:30 AM were in 9-12 inches of fresh light powder!

See you on the slopes!

Powderchaser Steve

Snowing at Alta and track still looking good for heavy snow in the Wasatch (11-17) and San Juans of Colorado. Snow finally breaking out over I -70 especially over Beaver Creek and Steamboat that is favored in West Flow Tuesday from 10AM to Midnight (5-9).  Vail might see 4-8 and Wednesday might be the better day.  LARGE storm over the Tetons, Wasatch and Northern Colorado for Wednesday evening through Friday! Stay tuned! more Powder Alerts and perhaps an Epic Alert by Thursday.

Powderchaser

This morning models continue to show a significant snow maker for the Southern Rockies (Wolf Creek, Durango, Silverton, Crested Butte) Monday night into Tuesday as well as a continuous fetch of moisture into the Wasatch of Utah!   Your best storm bets will be Tuesday morning with moderate amounts at opening and another 4-8 during the day. Big Cottonwood Canyon usually gets higher amounts under this pattern so look for some impressive snow totals at Brighton, Solitude, and even areas as far North as Snowbasin!  Snowbird and Alta will do well especially later in the storm Tuesday morning when the winds shift to the Northwest.

In Colorado, Crested Butte should also do well with SW flow especially after midnight on Monday!  The Central and Northern mountains near I-70 like Aspen and further points North will do better Tuesday morning through 9PM that night.  Steamboat will pick up 4-8 inches as moisture from the SW flows up through the Grand Valley near Grand Junction, Rifle, and especially Powderhorn an up to the Yampa Valley.  Vail and areas further East will only see 3-6 inches most likely early Tuesday and during the day.

The next storm slams into the Sierra on Wednesday (12-18 inches) and works its way across the Northern Rockies Wednesday night and Thursday!  Expect 8-16 inches in many locations favoring the North!  Vail might end up with a great powder day on Thursday!

The Northwest is on Epic alert with 2 feet of low density snow this morning for the lucky ones at Stevens Pass and especially Mount Baker!  Very windy conditions and heavy wind impacted snow is falling over the Tetons with approx 10 inches in sheltered spots at Jackson Hole where the Tram shut down at 1 PM.   Wind hammered all day with 65 sustained at upper elevations so in many areas you encountered crust only to pounce into a pocket of fluffier essence .  One of my toughest chases today where the TDI  took me from Glenwood Springs CO to Jackson at 3AM putting me into the peak storm hours at Jackson Hole?  The wind is still cranking as well as new snow at upper elevations!  Intensity should wean some tonight with another 6 inches tonight?  The Wasatch got the wind without the snow!!  Colorado will see light snow North of I 70 with and much colder temps and windy conditions on Sunday

Jackson hole was a maze of tram up, tram down, trip by trip heavy winds in the 70 mph range. Rain at the base and cream up top!!  The cold front will slam into the Rockies reaching Wyoming by 11PM and Northern Colorado by 2AM.  Winds will increase significantly for at least 6hoursafter frontal passage as the Tetons will decrease by opening times.  The highest amounts will be over Wyoming (7-10) as well as the Gore Range near Vail where by late Thursday 7-9 will have fallen.  Higher amounts possible!   The Wasatch range of Utah can expect a 2 hour window of heavy snow tonight diminishing to moderate by morning (5-9).   Most snow will wind down by late Thursday with the exception of the San Juans where theheaviest snow will fall after 10 AM. The Aspen zones will see 4-8 by Thursday PM as well as the San Juans with lighter amounts

I am bunkered down at Jackson Hole where it is snowing moderately at upper elevations and sleet on lower faces. If you can get here tomorrow will be epecially good since the tram ran very few trips with top to bottom smooth  conditions on top of 25 fresh!

Currently snowing with mix of sleet at lower elevations in Jackson Hole (18 inches in the past 24 hours) with heavy wind and snow on the mountain and expected extensive delays on Tram and openings for Wednesday!  Vail mountain is seeing moderate to heavy snow currently as well as Steamboat where it has not stopped snowing for the past 48 hours!  My expectations for Vail are 4-8 tonight and Steamboat in the 5-11 inch range.

My general pick at this point is Steamboat or Vail on Wednesday and perhaps Jackson Hole on Thursday since I believe most terrain will eventually open then (Winds will calm on Thursday).   Please post some weather updates!

Just a quick update looking at the models, moderate snow, strong winds, and slightly warming temperatures will continue across the Tetons (Targhee and Jackson Hole Mountain Resort) until a cold front passes on Wednesday night. Winds will calm down after the cold front passes and bring lighter density snow behind it (4-8).  Until that happens continuous moisture will stream in from the West tonight through Wednesday, strong winds (Lift closures likely), and heavy snowfall will continue with an expected 18-24 inches additional.  JHMR reported 10 inches overnight and another 5 inches has fallen during the day today!

The Wasatch will see light snow with 2-5 inches every 8 hours until the cold front on Wednesday night passes and eventually shutting things down by Thursday morning. The Northern Wasatch especially near the ID border will see much higher amounts.

More updates to follow!

Powderchaser Steve