3 AM update
As we forecasted yesterday, snow may fall east and south of most ski areas in Colorado and New Mexico. I still had forecasted 4-8 inches in some locations. Taos has sat in the skunk hole all night with heavy snow falling in the ABQ metro areas. SE winds are not favorable for the ski areas. One exception has been Santa Fe where it appears 4-6 inches has fallen as of 2 AM. Snow will pick up in southern Colorado this morning. I am not expecting more than 2-5 inch storm totals through Saturday morning where snow showers continue. Taos may still see 3-5 inches as the winds may shift to the NW at some point today. If your chasing pow, consider Ski Santa Fe where an additional 3-6 inches is likely today. Storm totals in this area should exceed a foot (They had 8 inches new yesterday). The food is terrific in Santa Fe NM, and it's a great destination to chase powder and surround yourself with blue jean skiers. Wolf Creek may see light or moderate snow later this morning (Wildcard with east winds). You may be riding some pow by this afternoon if your lucky and those east winds push enough snow to the higher elevations (Wildcard). The same forecast goes for Purgatory and the Durango area where light snow is likely this morning.
The weekend brings a warm system to the Cascades (4500-5,000 foot snow levels) followed by a strong cold front Saturday night. That cold front will crash the snow levels to the bases and may offer some really good turning conditions Sunday morning, You may see 4-10 inches of wet snow Saturday followed by 3-7 inches of pow for Sunday morning. I will fine tune these amounts on my Saturday post. Most of BC will also benefit from this storm.
The Rockies get decent rewards in Idaho, Wyoming, and Colorado on Sunday/Monday. Currently, the Tetons may be favored slightly over the Wasatch. Both should benefit from at a moderate for storm skiing Sunday. You may be able to chase it to Colorado for late Sunday or early Monday. Amounts will be fine-tuned on a later post.
The extended looks good for the Northwest late next week.
Powderchaser Steve
