Rain and warmer air have returned to the Mid-Atlantic, but there are still a few areas in the northern Mid-Atlantic with fresh snow from the past weekend. We are counting the days down for the few open resorts across the region that plan to stay open for another week or two. Check out Snowshoe on Tuesday, which plans to have its last day of skiing and riding on Sunday, March 31st.

Forecast on Wednesday, March 27th and Thursday, March 28th:

Wednesday will see a few scattered rain showers throughout the Mid-Atlantic. During the afternoon, a coastal storm will start to move up the coast and strengthen. The storm track will remain off the coast and there still is a small chance the Catskills could get clipped with snow. The precipitation line with this storm will be sharp, but if it does extend to the west, it will be cold enough in the Catskills.

I think a few wet snowflakes will fly with snow accumulations less than 1 inch. If the storm moves slightly further to the west, the Catskills could see 1-4 inches of snow. Moderate rain will extend through the eastern Mid-Atlantic from Wednesday evening through Thursday afternoon and the rest of the Mid-Atlantic will see partly clear and dry weather on Thursday.

Below is a look at the HRRR model’s depiction of precipitation type and intensity from Wednesday evening, March 27th through Thursday evening, March 28th.

Forecast from Friday, March 29th through Sunday, March 31st:

Friday will clear for most of the Mid-Atlantic with seasonable but cool temperatures. A brief rain or snow shower is possible in WV and western MD with minimal accumulations. 

The storm track will remain active this weekend with a weak storm moving in from the west late Saturday into Sunday. Saturday will start clear and dry for a great start to the weekend. Clouds will move in throughout the day ahead of the storm system.

This storm will track through the center of the Mid-Atlantic and temperatures will be right around freezing in the northern Mid-Atlantic. A few wet snow showers are likely but the exact storm track will influence how close to freezing temperatures will be. Scattered showers will continue on Sunday morning and decrease throughout the day with clearing by the late afternoon. Snow accumulations will be a trace - 2 inches. 

A larger storm will approach the Mid-Atlantic on Monday, April 1st and Tuesday, April 2nd. This storm is expected to track through the region and or to the northwest. This storm track does have a chance to bring colder air to the northern Mid-Atlantic, but it is too early to have confidence in this. Additionally, cooler air could follow this storm system into Wednesday, April 3rd, and for the remainder of the week. 

This will bring more small chances of light snow through the northern Mid-Atlantic. I have low confidence in snow accumulations this far out, but if snow does fall, accumulations will be less than 5 inches. This will most likely be the last week of skiing and riding for the Mid-Atlantic.

Below is a look at the Climate Prediction Center’s (CPC) probability outlook of temperatures (top) and precipitation (bottom) from Monday, April 1st through Friday, April 5th. 

Thanks for reading, I will have the next forecast on Friday, March 29th. If the snow forecast for the Catskills on Thursday and Friday changes drastically, I will have a late-morning update on Thursday, March 28th.

Zach Butler

NEW: Snow Ratio Forecast

You can now get a good idea of the upcoming snow quality for the next storm via our new "Snow Ratio" forecast for any location in OpenSnow.

When we talk about snow quality, such as “light and fluffy” or “heavy and wet”, we are talking about the snow-to-liquid ratio. The higher the snow-to-liquid ratio, the lighter the snow quality, and vice-versa.

1. Go to any location screen and tap the "Snow Summary" tab.
2. Scroll down to the 5-day hourly or 10-day forecast section.
3. View the 5-day hourly or daily "Snow Ratio" forecast for the next 10 days.

10:1 will be fun but will feel a little heavy. 15:1 will offer some faceshots and feel pretty light. 20:1 will be incredibly light, almost like skiing through nothing but air.

This new feature is currently available with the latest version of the OpenSnow iOS app installed (App Store > OpenSnow > Update) or on the OpenSnow website (OpenSnow.com). It will be available in the OpenSnow Android app soon.

View → Snow Ratio Forecast