SUMMARY:
Snow fell as forecasted last night in New England. North Conway and southern Vermont were favored with 9-11 inches at most ski areas this morning. Further north slightly lower amounts were reported. Its a full on powder day with all overnight dumpage. In the West, significant snow will fall in the Sierra through Monday and drag decent leftovers into Arizona, Utah, and south/central Colorado Sunday. A separate system will bring a foot or more of pow to British Columbia Friday that drags decent snowfall to the northern Panhandle of Idaho Saturday. Leftovers spill into Whitefish MT. Late weekend will bring a decent dump to the Wasatch for Sunday extending north to the Tetons and south into south/central Colorado.
FORECAST:
BRRR- The wind chill in the Midwest is in the -50 degree range! Polar Vortex in full progress for the Midwest producing dangerous conditions in many areas!
Below: Stay inside! Remember Carbon Monoxide Poisoning is the #1 cause of poisoning deaths so do not bring heaters inside the home, garage or near occupied areas.
Snow will be ending in New England this morning with the exception of northern Vermont where radar is still showing some moderate precipitation. Most resorts picked up nearly a foot of powder with the highest amounts south and east towards the NH/ME border.
In the West, if you're looking to complete the chase trifecta consider BC or the northern Cascades of WA for Friday (5-11 inches), Sierra Saturday (9-15) and Utah or the Tetons for Sunday (8-15). Colorado is on the list for Sunday afternoon!
Snow in the Cascades will pick up by Thursday afternoon with lowering snow levels (4,000 feet near Mt Baker). Rain and snow will proceed this front so conditions under the new snow may be manky. Lowering snow levels in BC and the North Cascades (7-11) should offer decent turning conditions Friday morning (Revelstoke, Whistler, Baker, North Cascade Heli). Further south in the Cascades amounts will be less.
In the Sierra, significant snow will fall from late Saturday night through early next week. Warm air initially will bring rain to the valley late Saturday turning to all snow by daybreak. expect 9-15 inches of new snow by 10 AM Saturday at most resorts in the Tahoe Basin and higher amounts in the southern Sierra. Mammoth will benefit from colder temps (Higher elevations) and more moisture through Saturday afternoon. Caveat: Storm starts out on the warm side Friday night and turns colder at some time Saturday after daybreak. It's possible that you score 75% dense snow with a 25% frosting (lighter) on top. It's also possible that the lighter density snow does not increase quality until mid-morning after the lifts have opened. It will most likely continue to snow during the day on Saturday.
The Sierra will cool down Saturday-Tuesday with several more systems continuing to pump in additional moderate events (Good Quality) Saturday night-Sunday and Monday. These may offer less in the respect to overnight totals but quality and amounts will be adding up to several feet by Monday. The northern Sierra may be slightly favored on the late weekend events (Too early to narrow in details).
Below: Total snowfall through Saturday mid-morning in the Sierra. Slight favortism to the southern Sierra where up to 20 inches are likely.
The Panhandle of Idaho takes the brunt of the Cascade/BC snow Friday on Saturday morning (Northern Panhandle). Some snow will make its way into central Idaho Saturday afternoon for the Sawtooths (Sun Valley). Snow may continue light or moderate into Sunday.
Sunday offers the best odds for powder days from northern Arizona, southern Utah, Wasatch, and Tetons. Snow will be falling by late Saturday and increase after midnight into Sunday morning. Models show moderate snow for Arizona and possibly heavier amounts for Utah and Wyoming. In Utah SW winds will favor Big Cottonwood Canyon (Solitude), Park City, Deer Valley, and Snowbasin. Models show 8-13 inches for the higher elevations and perhaps 4-8 for the Park City Valley. Snow levels will be on the high side with medium density pow mid-mountain and heavier for lower elevations. In Wyoming, moisture should stream north from the Wasatch and deliver 5-10 inches.
Below: Total snowfall for the Wasatch of Utah through Monday. The highest amounts will fall late Saturday night to Monday afternoon. Isolated pockets of 12-20 inches in the Cottonwoods. 8-15 elsewhere at lower elevations.
Below: Total snowfall for the Tetons through Monday morning. Similar high-end amounts are possible for the Tetons, especially at JHMR summits (10-20).
Colorado grabs snowfall Sunday morning with your best odds of deep snow near Wolf Creek Pass, Purgatory and Silverton. Storm ski Sunday with 5-11 inches likely by the time the lifts close. Telluride is a wildcard with decent moisture setting up in the San Juans but unfavorable wind direction (SW). Winds in Colorado switch to the West late Sunday morning pushing snowfall into Crested Butte and mountains further north (I-70 corridor). Amounts will be highest in the central and southern mountains with lower amounts along I-70. Crested Butte is a good wildcard for late Sunday. Highest confidence is in the southern San Juan range.
EXTENDED:
Additional snow will be falling in the Sierra late this weekend and early next week (Good quality). Light to moderate snow is likely to continue in the Wasatch, Tetons, Southern Montana, and Colorado Sunday-Tuesday. Conditions will continue to improve. Amounts may add up nicely through the period. The highest totals may end up in the Wasatch or Tetons Sunday/Monday and into Colorado for Tuesday morning. In Colorado, a break Monday with a decent west flow for Tuesday morning should bring another powder day for early chairs. Those amounts may favor Crested Butte, Aspen, Steamboat and resorts on the western side of I-70 (Beaver Creek).
Powderchaser Steve