Chase Powder Daily Snow

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By Powderchaser Steve, Forecaster Posted 5 years ago November 6, 2018

The caboose is in sight for the west while the snow train may fire up in New England

Summary

What a wild 7 days for the West! The Tetons scored double digits in the past 3 days with lighter amounts in many areas of Montana. The Cascades got teased with single digit accumulations at higher elevations. The real winner in the powder game was most of central and northern Colorado where up to 53 inches has fallen in the past 7 days. Most resorts along I-70 are reporting 2-3 foot storm totals with 15-20 inches at Aspen. Steamboat may have similar amounts to Aspen (18 on the snow camera that has not been cleared). Checking the Tower SNOTEL at 10K feet we see 3 inches of water in the past several days, which would equivalate to much higher amounts at the summit of Steamboat. Loveland nabbed 37 inches in 72 hours and it's still snowing (very limited terrain is open). The winner is Breckenridge with 53 inches in 7 days! The next few days will feature light snow for most of the northern Rockies (MT, CO, WY). A storm system will move into northern New England early this weekend. A significant storm is possible for New England towards the middle of next week. Some spots in Colorado are currently at 190% of normal for snowpack for mid-November!

Short Term Forecast

Snow showers are continuing primarily along the Continental Divide of Colorado.  4-5 inches fell last night at both Breckenridge and Loveland purely due to orographic northwest flow.  It's another powder day for Loveland and A-Basin where you will find 3-5 inches of fresh since the lifts closed Monday.

I was at Loveland on Monday for my first ride on the high speed (Chair 1) which was a nice treat. This allowed me a quick 2 runs (5-7 inches of fresh pow on 2 groomers) that was tracked by my 2nd ride.  I then chased to Breck and was rewarded by skinning up to some steeper and deeper runs in knee to thigh deep medium density pow.  Breckenridge, Eldora, and Keystone are opening this Wednesday ahead of schedule.   

Below:  Loveland Ski area Monday, November 5, 2018 

Light snow will be most prominent over many areas of the Tetons and Montana through Thursday morning.  Periods of 1-3 inches will be possible every 24 hours with storm totals in the 2-7 inches in many spots (Big Sky, Bridger, Grand Targhee, JHMR, AZ Snowbowl).  Colorado will continue to see snow showers with light amounts expected through Wednesday. 

The Cascades may also see some light snow at the summits (Temps have been too warm in the PNW). 

Extended Forecast

The extended forecast features some highlights in New England.   Snow tapers in the west and increases over New England Friday night into Saturday.  Current models show a split flow of warm/cold air bringing rain to the coast and some light to moderate snow to the highest elevations of interior Maine and New Hampshire.  Some snow is possible in northern Vermont but my confidence is higher for north/central Maine and New Hampshire (Mt Washington will see decent amounts).  It's possible that 2-7 inches fall at the summits of Wildcat, Sunday River and Sugarloaf by mid-morning Saturday. The coldest air arrives Saturday morning so there may be a mixed bag Friday night changing to all snow Saturday. 

Below:  New England snowfall through late Saturday night (Favoring Mount Washington- 15 inches) with lighter amounts into central New Hampshire and northern Maine. 

The West falls under high-pressure next week with some warming temperatures.  The east may see a significant snow producer by mid next week!  

Below:  Ensembles for mid next week showing a possible decent system for the East. 

The GFS and Euro disagree on a possible return of snow for the Rockies towards the end of next week. Its possible low pressure returns to the Pacific Northwest and Rockies in the November 18-19 timeframe.  This may be a fairly warm system.  

Powderchaser Steve 

About Our Forecaster

Powderchaser Steve

Forecaster

Powderchaser Steve has over 45 years of experience chasing storms based on his weather and local knowledge of resorts on both the East and West Coasts. His snow intel will likely land him at the deepest resort and almost never missing "First Chair" in the process. Follow "The Chase" on OpenSnow to find out where the deepest snow may be falling.

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