Summary

Today will start out the week with cooler temperatures and breezy northwest winds. We could see a dusting of snow on top of the trace amounts that fell last night, but nothing substantial. Conditions will warm up Tuesday through Thursday with a ridge of high pressure riding in from the southwest. This will also bring another current of Pacific moisture by late week. High snow levels and copious moisture will characterize the extended forecast beginning Friday and continuing next weekend and beyond. There will be several wet storms in this flow, but significant snow accumulations will be far and few – primarily above 8,000 feet.

Today marks the final Idaho Daily Snow for this season. I’ll be signing off until things ramp back up next fall. In the meantime, you can check the Idaho and National forecasts through the following Open Snow links below. Then click below the name of your favorite mountain for the full forecast.

https://opensnow.com/state/ID

https://opensnow.com/dailysnow/usandcanada

 

Short Term Forecast

Boxzilla Challenge at Dollar Mountain Photo Courtesy Tal Roberts

 

Today thorugh Tuesday Morning

A cold front is riding through this morning, preceeding it’s parent storm in the upper atmosphere (dark Black U-shaped trough) below:

GOES-West Water Vapor Satellite Imagery Courtesy NOAA

This will keep temperatures about 10 degrees cooler than yesterday, but also crank up some northwesterly breezes, especially over the higher ridges. Additionally, as the clouds continue to move out, we will see bluebird skiing with Spring corn conditions due to the freezing nighttime temperatures tonight and tomorrow. In fact, it will get down to around 10 degrees above 7,000 feet with daytime highs near the freezing mark, mid-30s at best.

With plenty of sunshine, and a freeze-thaw cycle underway, there is potential for loose-wet slab avalanches to trigger near heated rock outcroppings according to the Sawtooth Avalanche Center. Check out their website for updates before heading to the backcountry for couloirs skiing.

http://www.sawtoothavalanche.com/

 

Boulder Mountains Avalanches Courtesy Sawtooth Avalanche Center

 

Tuesday through Thursday

More bluebird skiing and riding are in store this week as temperatures warm up with a strong ridge of high pressure that will build in. It won’t be long-lived, however, as another deep Pacific storm will begin to break this pattern down by Thursday night. Notice in the NAEF Precipitation (top image in Green) /Snow (bottom image in Blue) forecast show lines that are pretty much horizontal until 12Z (sunrise) on Saturday, April 8?  That means high and dry until next weekend approaches – then watch out, it’s gonna get sloppy wet again!

NAEF Forecast Courtesy University of Utah

Friday through Sunday

An extremely wet weekend is in store for the period as another ‘atmospheric river’ will take aim over the area.  In comparison to Northern California, 2 inches of moisture may not look like much on the map, but this is ridiculously wet.  To put it in perspective, if the temperatures next weekend were below freezing, we would see a couple feet of snow.  Since it will be warm, look for snow mostly up on the highest ridges with rain below until the cold front sweeps through. By next Sunday, I think it will be cold enough for measurable snow near 6,000 feet.

7 Day Precipitation Forecast through Sunday, April 9 Courtesy NOAA

 

Extended Outlook

April 9 Through April 15

The extended outlook through 2 weeks from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center continues to favor above-normal precipitation across most of the U.S. (Green colors below). They are also carving out potential for colder-than-normal temperatures, so we may get some more late-season snowfall events through mid-April.

Courtesy NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center

 

Thank you for reading. This has been a great season to remember and I look forward to next year!

Coleen

 

Today: Dollar Mountain final day of the season and Cold Bowl Pond Skim at Dollar Mountain