Rain will fall across eastern New England on Thursday as we round out the warm portion of the week. The frontal boundary sitting over the region will push east later today with increasing high pressure and drop temperatures back to more below normal levels for the weekend. Some snow may be possible on the backside of the current rain event ending across New England on Thursday with 1-2" possible over at Sugarloaf into Friday morning. 

Radar animation for the period ending at 6:45AM on Thursday morning.

Temperatures on the slopes across the North Country will likely settle into the teens for Friday and Saturday. Following the warmth, snow conditions could get a little firm, but overall the March sun angle should keep things soft in the afternoon. 

The colder weather will also bring around some ideal conditions for snow making. I don't imagine many resorts will be blowing snow after the 2-foot storm last weekend, but we could see some resorts like Killington piling onto Superstar.

OpenSnow experimental snow-making conditions forecast (i.e., wet-bulb temperature) forecast through Sunday at Killington.

Our next shot at snow is likely on Sunday as a very weak system crosses the region with "an inch or so" possible across portions of the higher terrain in Vermont and New Hampshire. Otherwise, we wait and see what is possible into next week. 

GFS model forecast 12-hour snowfall for 8AM to 8PM on Sunday. 

More significant snowfall is possible next week with a large-scale flow pattern that currently favors a stalling storm over the western North Atlantic. The latest GFS model forecast has a big mix of rain and snow with an interior storm entering the region on Tuesday (2 April) that transitions to the coast by Thursday and Friday (4-5 April).

GFS model forecast animation for 8AM Tuesday through 2PM Friday (2-5 April). 

Of course there is model-to-model uncertainty and ensemble uncertainty for where the storm will track, how strong it will be, and how long it may stall along the coast. Regardless, the pattern favors more snow next week with totals that could easily add up to more than a foot into next weekend. I've included the deterministic model comparisons below for the Northeast U.S. and the ECMWF ensemble grid for central Vermont.

10-day total snowfall forecasts from the GFS and ECMWF models through 8PM next Saturday (6 April) using the 10:1 ratio calculation. 

ECMWF ensemble grid for 24-hour snowfall in central Vermont at Rutland through 11 April. 

If this pattern and storm verify into next week there will be plenty of spring skiing through April this year in New England. I'll keep an eye on the forecast. Thanks for reading and check for the next update on Saturday. 

-Dr. Jay

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