SUMMARY POW:
The atmospheric river is continuing for the PNW and most of the interior of Canada with yet another day of heavy snow on all the models for the next 24 hours. Temps have been warm and snow quality in the Cascadia category at most WA resorts. in BC the further north, the better the conditions, however, the deepest snow will be closest to the US border.
FORECAST POW:
Snow is falling in most of the PNW, interior BC with some impressive numbers in the past 48 hours.
Mount Baker: 35-40 inches (Telemetry)
White Pass BC 35 inches (Summit)- Rain-snow mix at the base
Crystal Mountain: 31 inches
Revelstoke: 22 inches (48 inches in 7 days)
Stevens Pass 25 inches
While these amounts have been impressive, temps Thursday were low for high quality while Friday and early Saturday brought warming and an increase in \Mank\" (you can comment if you need exact definitions). I did not chase this storm!
Further north towards Revy, temps are a bit cooler while closer to the US border conditions are raining below 4,000 feet with heavy snow at the summits.
The good news is that a cold front is now approaching the PNW from the west so temps will cool during Saturday bringing snow levels lower throughout the day. Quality today will slowly improve in the Cascades. Some additional light snow (Decent quality) will fall Saturday evening into Sunday.
In BC the cooler temps don't settle in until late Saturday into Sunday. 5-9 additional inches are likely for southern BC, Alberta (Sunshine Village, Banf) for your 1st chairs Sunday morning (Decent quality).
Below: The Powder Gnome at Revelstoke this morning measuring 7-9 inches fresh (Overnight). He is 10 inches tall.
If you are chasing from the PNW, head the Sierra for Sunday/Monday. A fast-moving system will race over the Sierra with some moderate amounts for most ski areas. The highest amounts are likely in the southern Sierra (Mammoth) where up to 9-14 inches are likely by Monday morning. Further north I would watch Kirkwood and areas just south of the lake. The GFS favors the southern Sierra, where the Euro has decent amounts north to the I-80 corridor. Wide areas of 5-10 inches with some higher amounts at the peaks will be likely over much of the Sierra by Monday morning. Higher amounts are likely further south. Temps start out warm Sunday and finish much colder by Monday.
EXTENDED POW:
The Sierra system takes a southern path over Arizona (Moderate snow for the Snowbowl) and into the 4 corners by Xmas Eve. Snow will be falling just in time for the holidays over much of the Wasatch (Moderate prolonged event), Tetons (Light to moderate amounts) and Colorado. The models are a bit more bullish for the southern sections of Utah (Brian Head) and the San Juan range in Colorado. It's possible that by Friday next week these areas see 9-15 inches (Combined Wed-Friday pow).
There is also a good signal for additional snow to start falling in the Pacific Northwest late next week.
Please join our concierge custom chase forecasting to support our forecasts and provide you the deepest powder of the season.
Powderchaser Steve
