The next round of snow is here as of Wednesday morning in the way of an atmospheric river (AR). This AR is already bringing moderate snow and rising snow levels to Oregon. Check out at Mt. Bachelor with snow coming down and accumulating.

Forecast from Wednesday, March 27th through Friday, March 29th:

This AR will bring the heaviest snowfall rates throughout the day and become scattered by Wednesday evening. Snow levels are starting around 4,000-4,500 feet as of Wednesday morning and are currently rising and will continue to rise as the AR brings warmer air. They will rise to around 4,500-4,750 feet in the northern Cascades and around 5,000 feet in the central and southern Cascades. 

This rise in snow levels will lower snow ratios to 8-9:1 (maybe lower) and make snow accumulations a lot wetter. The good news is that colder air will move back in on Thursday with scattered snow continuing. Snow levels on Thursday will return to 3,000 feet. Below is a look at the OpenSnow Blend of Model’s snow quality or ratio (black line) and 3-hourly precipitation rates (blue bars) @ Mt. Hood Meadows from Wednesday, March 27th through Saturday, March 30th.

Winds with this storm will be strong on Wednesday and weaker on Thursday. The AR will bring winds sustained at 20-40 mph with gusts over 60 mph likely. Winds will weaken on Thursday but will still gust up to 40 mph at times. Winds will be much weaker by Friday.

On Friday, a couple of snow showers are still possible throughout Oregon but these chances will lower throughout the day. Southern Oregon has the highest chance of snow showers on Friday with snow accumulations up to 1 inch possible.

Below is a look at the National Blend of Model’s (NBM) forecasted snow accumulations from Wednesday, March 27th through Friday, March 29th. See the table of forecasted snow accumulations below.

Forecast on Saturday, March 30th and Sunday, March 31st:

There is a bit more certainty in the forecast and I have moderate confidence we will stay mostly dry this weekend as a storm system will stay to the south of us. A small chance of a shower is still possible, mainly in southern Oregon. Temperatures will warm into the upper 30s and 40s this weekend. Winds could be gusty up to 30 mph on Sunday.

Next week will start dry with a significant warming trend. A brief upper-level ridge and high pressure will move into the PNW bringing dry, clear, and warm weather from Monday, April 1st through Wednesday, April 3rd. After Wednesday, there are signs we could turn stormy again although there is still a lot of uncertainty in the extended forecast. 

Below is a look at the Euro's ensemble predicted upper-level pattern on Monday, April 1st (left) and Friday, April 5th (right).

Description: The warm, orange colors show drier and warmer air that will be associated with high pressure. The cool, blue colors show cooler air that will be associated with the storm track. 

Thanks for reading, I will have the next update on Friday.

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