Heavy snow will be falling over the mountains of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee late Saturday through Sunday. There appear to be 4 resorts currently open. Sugar Mountain has 1300 vertical feet and is reporting a 59-inch summit base depth this morning (4 inches in the past few days). Appalachian Ski Mountain has a whopping 365 vertical feet with 25% of their advanced terrain open. Bring your fat skis as you might not be moving very fast by the time 10-20 inches of east coast pow has fallen through Sunday. If your there, send us pictures at hello@opensnow.com.
Below: Total snowfall through Sunday afternoon
In the Northwest, the pattern will remain active. There are 3 main systems that begin to impact this region late this weekend, midweek, and again late next week. Each system will be wetter and deeper. Very cold air will keep most moisture in the form of snow midweek with the exception of a brief warm-up Thursday afternoon (4000-foot snow levels), followed by cooling again next weekend. Snow levels will be as low as 1,000 feet by late next week. Light snow is possible Saturday that turns moderate by Sunday morning. Moderate snow will favor the northern Cascades (Baker) and coastal BC, with snow levels near the bases (4,000 feet). Mixed rain/snow may be falling at the lower elevations with 4-6 inches of snowfall at the summits by late Sunday. The central Cascades (Snoqualmie, Stevens) and southern Cascades (White Pass, Crystal) will see lower amounts. Oregon will grab some light snow on Sunday. Snow will continue Sunday night landing another 2-5 inches of snow to many resorts in the Cascade range. This may also favor the northern Cascades, however, some models push similar amounts into the southern zones near Crystal. Total snowfall by Monday morning will range in the 4-10 inch range.
Below: Total snowfall through Monday morning in the PNW and BC. Highest amounts (4-10) will likely fall in the northern zones, with moderate amounts further south.
