Summary
It's still snowing in New Mexico as moisture is dropping sough from Santa Fe this morning. Colorado nabbed 11-15 inches in the front range and New Mexico scored deep last night (14 Plus inches per snow telemetry). New England grabs a warm moderate storm Tuesday followed by arctic air Wednesday. Another storm moves into New England late this week. The Rockies get teased especially Montana, Wyoming and perhaps Colorado Friday/Saturday.
Short Term Forecast
It's been a wild 24 hours with significant snow falling in the foothills outside of Denver. I was snowshoeing mid-thigh Pow at Betasso open space near Boulder yesterday. Snow was falling at Eldora all day with totals in the 8-9 inch range. We highlighted Eldora on a previous post. I was surprised to see Rocky Mountain National Park came in with lower amounts. East and Northeast winds are not favorable for the Continental Divide (Western side especially) so not surprised to see lower amounts at resorts west or just north of Georgetown.
I mentioned on last nights post another surge of moisture was going to hit the western mountains. It happened, with a surprise 10 inches at Snowmass! Most other resorts west of the Divide are reporting 2-4 inches inline with the original forecast. Monarch seems to have scored between 4-7 inches looking at webcams but nothing official.
If this were full-on chase mode, I would be lined up for first chair somewhere in New Mexico. Automated data shows 7-14 inches in a 6-8 hour window from late Sunday to Monday morning at Taos, Red River and perhaps Santa Fe. Radar shows moisture is south of Taos but it's still snowing at Santa Fe. Someone is going to report higher totals once we get official reports.
Below: Webcam at Red River Ski area in New Mexico Monday morning. Who wishes they were there right now?
New England is on tap for another storm early Tuesday morning favoring the northern mountains. Cool air up north will be replaced by a warm front Tuesday. That warm air will keep mixed precipitation at the bases in the southern resorts and mostly snow up north. It's possible that resorts like Sugarbush, Stowe, Whiteface, Jay Peak, and Sugarloaf (Wildcard) report 4-7 inches by late Tuesday. Resorts in central Vermont or New Hampshire including Sunday River may see less. Very cold air is going to follow this front Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. Snow showers may continue in favored NW flow locations like Jay or Stowe. Snowmaking will be optimal for much of this week on top of all the natural snow New England has seen in the past week.
Below: Warm front pushing north Tuesday. Most resorts in the north will stay cooler. Image- 925 Millibars, roughly 2400 feet elevation. Areas up north should see mainly snow at the bases or mid-mountain. Southern or central resorts are going to see mixed precipitation at the bases possibly extending to mid-mountain.
Below: Arctic air moving into all of New England by Wednesday morning.
Below: Total snowfall for New England through late Tuesday. The Euro not showing on this post shows slightly higher amounts possible. Northern Resorts are favored.
Extended Forecast
Another round of moderate snow is likely for New England late this week. This system will be colder with snow likely for much of the region.
A round of light or moderate snow is likely for Montana Friday that quickly drops through central Wyoming and Colorado for next weekend. It looks to be a quick hitter. Some snow will be falling at Big Sky, Bridger, and resorts on the eastern areas of Colorado. We will address that system on a later post.
High Pressure is likely for much of the west for the early or mid-Thanksgiving week. Some of the ensembles are hinting at a west coast storm shortly thereafter that could even impact the Sierra.
Powderchaser Steve
