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Forecast:
Busiest weekend of the year brings the deepest snow totals to some areas. The Cascades from Southern Washington and most of Oregon grabbed frigid temps and 15-20 inches of snow on Saturday. It was snowing in Seattle where up to 8-12 inches fell in the metro areas. Crystal Mountain reported 18 inches overnight.
Below: The Powder Poobah- Larry Schick from OpenSnow (PNW Forecaster) skiing some perfect turns in downtown Seattle on Saturday morning. Way to go Larry! Perfect turns! Check out his forecast on OpenSnow.
Other deep highlights were Jackson Hole where 20 inches fell by 11 AM on Saturday creating epic blower pow conditions. The Wasatch grabbed storm skiing with 6-9 inches Saturday with snow continuing to fall. While telemetry showed 7 inches at 3PM it skied more like 12.
The forecast in the short term will see unstable snow showers continuing for the Cottonwoods especially near Alta and Snowbird with unstable NW flow. 6-12 inches of additional snow is likely by 6AM (Total snowfall since 5PM). Little Cottonwood is closing at Midnight Saturday and should reopen in the morning pending avalanche mitigation. In Colorado the models are showing 5-10 additional inches are likely for Saturday night for the southern mountains ( Purgatory, Wolf Creek with Telluride a wildcard pick). Ride fresh powder on Sunday if you chase south in Colorado. Elsewhere along the I-70 corridor, it is likely that 2-5 inches will fall providing a light freshening.
Extended:
The extended is very active. A strong system moves into the Pacific Northwest Sunday night into Monday (12-18 inches favoring the southern Cascades of Washington and most of Oregon. That system moves over the central Idaho Panhandle (Eastern sections) before reaching the Tetons and Wasatch for Monday late AM to Tuesday. Decent snow totals will be found in these areas late Monday and early Tuesday. There will be double digits in many areas of Idaho, Wyoming and Utah. Montana will grab leftovers during this period (Light to moderate snowfall). The southern or central mountains of Colorado will also see decent snow totals on Monday PM to Tuesday as this system takes a southerly track.
Snow levels Sunday night in the Cascades are respectable, except for a slight warm up Monday morning (Might create some instability).
Another system keeps moderate snow falling for the Cascades (6-14 additional) Monday night that will also bring additional snowfall to the Rockies on Tuesday.
Bottom Line:
* Multiple Feet of snow for the Pacific Northwest Sunday night to Tuesday (2 good storms).
* Chase to the Wasatch Sunday morning or consider the southern ski areas in Colorado for the deepest totals in the short term
* Another storm moves into the PNW Monday night that will keep an unsettled pattern over the Rockies on Tuesday.
Below: Total snowfall for the west showing many areas scoring deep powder by early next week. Several feet are possible in the PNW followed by some double digits favoring Wyoming, Utah, and southern Colorado early next week. You can ride powder Sunday/Monday/Tuesday in the west.
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Enjoy the powder everyone!
Powderchaser Steve
Powderchaser Steve
ot expecting more than 2-4 inches for many resorts.
