Summary: Snow will continue for the Pacific Northwest with another significant dump with less wind for some areas. Oregon is favored currently, but some upside surprises will also occur in the central Cascades of Washington (Western side). The Tetons and Wasatch are favored for the most snow Friday/Saturday, with Colorado sneaking in some upside surprises Saturday.
Update
Today saw very impressive snow totals in the Cascades 12-20 inches albeit very strong gusts Thursday night created significant drifting and density in some areas. Reports from Crystal were deep but dense from the winds. I chased to Grand Targhee Friday morning and scored 7-8 inches of blower on top of a semi-frozen layer. Turns were fun, semi-deep, and especially good on the Blackfoot chair Friday morning. As I stated in a previous post, the deepest snow totals might not be your best chase (Please comment if you were in the PNW).
Significant snowfall will continue for the southern and central Cascades of Washington (Stevens Pass and south) with most of the Oregon ranges doing very well Friday night. The Short term high-resolution model shows isolated pockets (Banding) of heavier pockets, from Enumclaw (just north of Crystal) towards I-90. Other spots that will see intensive periods of snow are most of the Oregon Range for deep powder Saturday morning. Winds have decreased so quality at many PNW resorts (The western side is favored versus the interior) will ride well for Saturday.
In the Rockies look for 6-10 inches for the Tetons. Winds start from the west (Slightly favored JHMR) and then shift to the NW which could put up some surprise totals for Targhee for Saturday morning. In the Wasatch Range of Utah, it's likely that most mountains pick up another 5-10 inches Friday night (Park City, Powder, Beaver (Wildcard) including Brighton. Winds from the NW will favor the Canyons side of Park City so there might be an upside surprise.10-18 inches are likely for Little Cottonwood between Friday night and Saturday evening. Some models show significantly less snow, so there is still some uncertainty. Bottom Line: Good snow for the Tetons Friday night and most of northern and central Utah. Some higher amounts are likely for the Cottonwoods that continue to reap rewards through Saturday evening on certain model runs.
For Colorado snow begins late Friday night in the northern mountains and transitions to the southern mountains by Saturday midday. Favored locations for 7-9 inches are Steamboat, Aspen, Beaver Creek (Western side of I-70), and perhaps Vail. Snow is also noted for Grand County north of I-70 so Winter Park might be scoring. There might be less snow in Summit with my best guess at 4-7 inches by midday Saturday (Wildcard). Snow transitions to Telluride by Saturday midday (3-7). Even Taos grabs some light or moderate snow by late Sunday.
Enjoy the Pow everyone. High pressure takes hold early next week! I suspect the slopes will be very busy this weekend.
Powderchaser Steve
