Summary
Finally, New England is getting snow. The first big storm of the year is already underway, and will deliver 10-24\ for most resorts, and up to 2 feet for southern Vermont. In the West, we are finally seeing skies clear after an epic storm cycle that brought 3-6 feet to resorts in California, Idaho, Utah, and Colorado. Below are some of the insane totals.
- Sierra at Tahoe: 70 in
- Palisades: 59 in
- Kirkwood 51 in
- Alta: 70.5 in
- Snowbird 61 in
- Sun Valley: 36 in
- Steamboat: 40 in
We were able to chase to Tahoe, Idaho, and Utah for this storm cycle. Our Palisades edit is here, Sun Valley here, and Snowbird here. If you want to score the run of YOUR life, sign up for the concierge and we will help you get there. Powderchasers and our forecast staff is supported by our readership, so if you have not donated, please do so here or join our powder concierge program where we provide 1:1 trip planning for chasing, last-minute custom forecasts, and the best pow day of your life. Support our sponsors and be sure to follow our Instagram and Facebook page @powderchasers.
Short Term Forecast
In the short term, we have the strong storm ongoing in the Northeast, and another significant storm headed for the west mid week. Let's start with the east, first.
EAST
Heavy snow is already falling across much of New England. This will continue through Saturday morning. Since this storm is already cranking, let's just quickly review expected totals. Most resorts in New England will see their first significant snow of the season. From eastern New York, to southern Vermont, through central and northern New Hampshire, and into western Maine, the heaviest snow totals will likely fall. This area will receive 12-20\" of snow, with locally higher amounts especially in southern Vermont, at resorts like Killington and Mt. Snow. Amounts will decrease a little bit as you head up the spine, but not by too much. Whiteface and Gore in New York; Sugarbush, Stowe, and Jay Peak in Vermont; Cannon and Wildcat in New Hampshire; and Sugarloaf, Sunday River, and Saddleback in Maine; all will receive 12-20\" of snow with higher amounts at the upper elevations. Below is the snow forecast from last night from the National Blend of Models.
This storm is not overly cold, so the snow will definitely be a bit on the heavier side to start, and struggle to accumulate at lower elevations at first. As you can see from the map, temperatures will be a little too warm for much accumulation in SW New Hampshire and central and eastern Massachusetts. There's just too many options for powder on Saturday morning, with most resorts expecting 6-10\" overnight. Temperatures may be a little cooler in western Maine during this storm, so that's probably where we would be targeting. Most of the snow will wind down Saturday morning, except for northern Vermont, northern New Hampshire, and Western Maine, where moderate snow may continue into Saturday evening. Beyond that, snow showers and flurries may linger into Sunday, especially for Northern Vermont, with some additional accumulations.
WEST
Shifting to the western part of the country, our next significant storm looks to arrive mid week. Before then, a smaller storm will move through Washington from Saturday to Monday. Snow will start in Washington as early as Saturday night, with the heaviest snow falling during the day on Sunday and into Sunday night. Biggest amounts likely at Stevens and Snoqualmie, where 4-8\" will fall, with lesser amounts, in the 3-6\" range, at Baker and Crystal. The snow will make its way inland, dropping 3-6\" for most of Northern Idaho (Schweitzer and Selkirk) and Northwest Montana as well (Whitefish, Teton Pass). Silver Mountain and Lookout may wind up with a little more, in the 6-10\" range from this one. Below is the NBM snow forecast through Monday,
After a short break, the next storm will arrive in the Northwest around Tuesday morning. This storm looks stronger, and has the potential to bring more significant accumulations to the Northwest. Moisture will again move inland and impact the Northern Rockies, including Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. We are dealing with a different storm track than what we've seen the last couple weeks, so many areas that recently saw snow will miss out on these next two storms. But, the American model and European model are still disagreeing on exactly how the midweek storm will play it. Before getting into more details, we want to let those models sort out the inconsistencies. For now, let's look at what each model is forecasting for snow through the end of the week to see how they differ.
The southern extent of the snow during this period is much greater in the European model, and this gives us little confidence in exactly how far south this storm will track. We will have an update this weekend on just how this storm will play out.
Thanks for reading.
Luke
