Looking to chase some powder? There are many options, especially for Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, northern Utah, and perhaps areas of Colorado north of I-70. I have high confidence in 12-18 inch storm totals in many areas with higher amounts possible for some spots in Montana. Models are showing a wide spread on totals with lots of discrepancies on who will be the deepest. 1-2 foot totals are likely through the weekend. 

Spoiler Alert!  Mystery dump in the Cottonwoods Wednesday night with very limited moisture but cold temps squeezed out a surprise of 9 inches for Thursday morning. This was a complete surprise. 

Below: New England scores a storm for Wednesday night into Thursday favoring the resorts in North Conway extending into Maine. Cold temps initially turn warm by Thursday with quality getting denser. Mixed Sleet is likely at resorts closest to the coast so stay inland or north. Sugarloaf, Sunday River, or interior areas of NH might be your best bets (Wildcat). 

WEST 

The current takehome from looking at multiple models and ensembles is a steady stream of cold smoke hits Montana beginning as early as Thursday PM and continues into the weekend. Look for some good storm skiing on Friday for Big Sky, Bridger, and Montana Snowbowl, with Teton pass and Great Divide solid wildcards. It's likely that the areas just northeast of Missoula see some pretty hefty totals with spots to the north towards Whitefish less. High confidence in decent totals for Big Sky and especially Bridger Bowl from Thursday night to Saturday.  Bottom Line: Good storm, kinda a steady chug of snow each day, perhaps no overnight double-digit dump, good storm totals- Models are still not in synch on which area of Montana gets nailed with the American and Euro in disagreement (Short term NAM 12 is very bullish for many areas). 

Below: Very cold temps at 10K feet streaming into Montana and Wyoming by Friday. The coldest air will remain over Wyoming and edge east into northern Colorado by the weekend. Bitter cold wind chills are likely, especially in Montana (-15F at 10K without the wind chill). 

Below: The University of Utah ensembles (Multiple averages of model runs) show a continuous fetch of snowfall for Big Sky from Thursday PM through the weekend. This might end up being a steady slow chug of 5-10 inches every 24 hours. There is not great agreement currently on totals (Widespread plots on this graph) so confidence is low on a 2-foot storm total with a range from 10-25 inches. Similar or higher amounts might land at Bridger, or even north near the Montana Snowbowl (Models are not in agreement). 

The Tetons are lighting up on most model runs with high confidence of snow beginning later Thursday night and increasing Friday (Storm ski- 3-7 inches on the AM report with numbers building higher during Friday). Snow might peak during the day Friday versus overnight Thursday. Lighter intensity pow continues Friday night into the weekend with storm totals in the 12-18 inch range with perhaps higher amounts. Cold temps will also bring some decent numbers to the Jackson Valley, Driggs, and to Snow King. 

Below: The University of Utah ensembles show a wide discrepancy in totals for JHMR with snow beginning Thursday night and continuing through Saturday. You can see the wide spread of solutions on totals with a general trend of 10-20 inches but with colder temps and good snow, ratios amounts at the peaks could exceed that. 

The Wasatch is on the cusp of the heaviest totals with most models bringing generally 3-7 inches to areas of the central or northern mountains. It's not likely they will score the high-end numbers as areas in Wyoming and Montana, however, it needs to be watched as any slight deviation in the track could result in some big changes. Perhaps Beaver Mountain near Logan scores while southern neighbors get less? A second storm due later Sunday to Monday will bring a higher confidence dump to the Wasatch range. 

Below: University of Utah guidance with the GFS (1 solution) showing storm #1 Friday to Saturday with moderate amounts and heavier amounts for the Sunday or Monday event. It's too early to speculate exact totals with some model discrepancy.  

For Colorado, snow showers will tease the northern mountains along or north of I-70 Wednesday -Thursday with perhaps 2-5 inches for Steamboat. The real game hits on Friday/Saturday with a strong emphasis on areas north of I-70 towards Steamboat. Snow increases Friday (storm ski) and peaks PM Friday to Saturday. It's possible that the Boat lands 12-15 inches by Saturday. WP is a wildcard. Areas south of I-70 will only see moderate amounts.

Below: Models are lighting up the northern regions of Colorado with peak snowfall Friday/Saturday. Some of these totals will fall Wednesday/Thursday (3-5). 

The extended brings some changes with a good chance of the next low-pressure system dropping into the Sierra by the weekend and pushing south over the 4 corners. This will spread snow into the southern regions of the west (AZ, UT, CO, NM) after it departs the Sierra later this weekend. Some areas of the southern and central Rockies could end up with some double-digit totals. 

Below: Low pressure (Storm #2) dropping south over the Sierra and into the 4 corners by late this weekend or early next week. The map is Monday morning January 30th. The European ensembles keep this system a bit further north which would result in less snow for the southern areas, but still decent snow for the Wasatch. 

This will be an active week that will continue into week #2. There might be a trend of high pressure in the west by mid-next week.

Stay tuned to the chase powder forecast and follow my Instagram feed at @powderchasersteve for the latest in snow and travel.

Enjoy the powder, everyone! 

PCS