The West is in for another productive weekend, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. The storm energy will slide south into Utah and Colorado at the end of the weekend and early next week. Very hefty amounts of snow with unseasonably cold air will be the result. Utah just scored 30 inches in the past 2 days and it is still dumping. This is not an early April fools Joke. 

Update at 9AM Friday: Little Cottonwood and Big Cottonwood Canyons are closed (Slide across the road in BCC). 22 inches has fallen overnight from Thursday to Friday in the Cottonwoods and the northern mountains near Snowbasin. PCMR will also be deep but more so on the Canyons side (*NW Flow). There is no ETA on LCC opening, with BCC set up to open around 11 AM.  Utah is getting nailed again with another big storm early next week. Sometimes the deepest snow is not your best friend. 

Below: Snowbasin is getting puked on big time with all of this coming overnight into Friday. 

Below: @powderchasersteve stuck in the Cliff Lodge Friday morning with the dreaded inter- lodge entrapment. 

PNW

Snowfall begins to move into the Pacific Northwest and Western BC on Friday. Whistler and all resorts south into both the WA and OR Cascade Range will see significant snow. Oregon or areas of northern Washington near Baker may end up tipping the scale. 

Snowfall will ramp up during the day on Friday and bring 1-3” across Washington with totals on the upper end of that range at Mt. Baker. Strong winds may close upper-elevation lifts at Mt. Hood and perhaps Crystal. Friday night brings major snowfall across the region. Baker and Hood will be the winners with 11-19” of overnight snow. Alpental, Crystal, and White Pass should be looking at 7-15” and Stevens Pass should pick up 9-13

Snow will continue during the day on Saturday: expect 1-4” for most resorts with 5-9” at Mt. Hood. Strong winds will keep upper mountain access at Hood very limited. Saturday will be a full on powder day for the PNW. 

Above: strong winds on Saturday will limit upper mountain access at Hood and perhaps resorts in southern Washington (Crystal, as far north as Snoqualmie Pass). Winds should decrease over Crystal by mid morning. Check out the early season renewal and new pass rates from IKON below. 

Saturday night will bring another solid dump. 1-5” for most resorts with 5-10” at Crystal and 10-15” at Hood. Sunday will bring another few inches to Washington resorts and another 4-8” to Hood. It goes without saying by now that Timberline and Meadows will definitely be the chase target this weekend…

Lingering showers will bring another few inches through Monday, but no major accumulation is expected.

Idaho gets nailed with this storm on the Panhandle extending into the western regions near McCall and even north into Selkirk Powder Guides near Sandpoint. Sun Valley sees a bit less sitting just south of the heaviest moisture bands. You could ride Ski Lookout, Tamarack, Brundage, Selkirk Powder, this weekend all with deep pow. Selkirk Powder has some cat seats available on Tuesday. We think conditions will be prime. 

Utah

Utah just got nailed with up to 30 inches in the past 48 hours in the northern and central Wasatch. 

Snowfall from the same over the PNW Saturday will arrive on Sunday night in Utah. This storm will favor northern Utah and the Wasatch. The storm starts out strong with 6-10” on Sunday night for northern Utah (Beaver, PowMow) and 4-8” for the Cottonwoods and PC/DV. 

Strong snowfall continues to slide south during the day on Monday, focusing the Cottonwoods in the epicenter. Northern Utah can expect another 2-4” during the day, Cottonwoods 6-10”, and PC/DV 5-9”. Heavy snowfall on Monday night lights up the mountains from the northern border all the way to the southern border. Here are what I see as reasonable overnight totals on Monday night:

• Northern Utah (Beaver, PowMow): 4-8”
• Cottonwoods: 6-10”
• PC/DV: 3-6”
• Brian Head: 10-15”

Tuesday will bring another 1-3” across the state with 4-6” locally for resorts in the Cottonwoods. Tuesday night should see another 2-6”, mostly for northern Utah and the Wasatch.

Storm totals for Utah from Sunday to Tuesday will be in the 20-40 inch range!

Above: GFS painting 20" at Alta. Keep in mind that this is assuming 10:1 liquid ratio, although temperatures will allow ratios closer to 15:1 during this storm, so the image above is an underforecast for sure (3-4 feet is possible).

Colorado

Precipitation arrives in Colorado slightly later, on Monday night. 

Here are realistic overnight totals by the time lifts are spinning on Tuesday:

• Steamboat: 5-10”
• I-70 resorts: 4-8
• Central CO: 2-5” (4-8” at Powderhorn)
• Southern CO: 3-8

Tuesday will bring more solid total across the state as snow continues. 

• Steamboat: 2-4”
• I-70 resorts: 2-6” (highest at A-Basin, Loveland, Eldora, Winter Park)
• Central CO: 2-4” (5-8” at Powderhorn)
• Southern CO: 2-4”

Tuesday night will be the final hurrah of snow from this system, with 1-4” on top of an already sweet storm total. 

Beyond that, a secondary minor storm is likely for later next week, starting on Wednesday night. It’s too early to nail down specifics, but it looks like this storm could last through Friday night and bring more small snow accumulations to Colorado. Bottom Line: Steady light to moderate snow from Monday to Wednesday with peak intensity for Tuesday. This system might favor northern areas near Steamboat, Central regions near Aspen and the western I-70 corridor. Sum totals could be decent next week. Tuesday might be the deepest overnight dump and ride day. Models diverge on storm totals for the core of I-70 with the low tracking north into Wyoming and the Dakotas. Some hint at some decent totals Tuesday/Wednesday with others a bit more pessimistic. We are on the optimistic side. 

Tetons

The Tetons are going to score big this week, with Targhee and JHMR being a very solid chase target. The best days will be Saturday and Sunday, where 6-12” daily totals are likely at Targhee and 4-8” daily totals at Jackson. A secondary system will bring 5-10” of extra snow on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, keeping things fresh.The Tetons are scoring light to moderate snow each day through Wednesday adding up to 2-3 feet. The peak intensity is likely to come Saturday/Sunday for a double digit snow report. 

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Forecaster- Staff