Chase Powder Daily Snow

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By Powderchaser Steve, Forecaster Posted 12 months ago April 2, 2023

Powder Insanity Continues! 3-6 Feet To Start April- Not April Fools Joke.

Summary

While March rolls out with record snowfall all over the west April rolls in with a bang. Alta just joined the 800 inch club. Oregon is getting crushed beyond belief and its snowing near the coast.

Update

On Friday, both Alta and Snowbird remained closed with Little Cottonwood opening around 2PM. Big Cottonwood was closed due to an avalanche until noon. On Saturday both Snowbird and Alta opened with nearly 25-30 inches of new snow (Full reset) and bluebird skies. Meanwhile, I chased to Jackson where it has been snowing moderately and 10 inches for opening at JHMR. Alta joined the 800 inch club and is now at 811 inches season to date. 

Below: @powderchasersteve via Instagram - Alta Ski Area Storm total 35-40 inches and the history books of breaking 800 inches on Friday. 

Oregon was crushed on Friday night with Timberline snow telemetry showing several feet by Saturday PM. Washington was in the 5-10 inch range with Baker on the upper end. 

Below: Timberline Lodge showing 11 inches on telemetry at 0400 Saturday morning and an additional 18 inches since 6AM.  The snow is going to continue heavily into Sunday. 

With so much going on I will condense the forecast to a discussion on where to find the deepest snow. 

The Saturday analysis shows another 4-9 inches for the Teton Range for Sunday morning (Good chase, manageable totals, strong winds might buff upper peaks). Oregon will continue to get clobbered from the northern ranges to Bachelor. Expect very deep totals Sunday morning with many lifts not spinning. It will be snowing along the coastal ranges of Oregon above 1500 feet (Is this an April Fools Joke). This will likely set early April records. 

Washington is showing a convergence zone setting up just north of Stevens Pass that could bring moderate totals to Stevens, and the I-90 resorts mainly Saturday night through Sunday (Keeps snowing). While overnight totals might be 4-9 sum totals by last chair Sunday could be higher. Similar totals or slightly less are noted for Crystal while much higher amounts possible for White Pass and the Oregon border extending to Bachelor. If the convergence zone sets up further south in Washington, Stevens, Alp, and Snoqualmie could report higher amounts Sunday. Chase to Oregon for the deepest snow, but Washington might have more open, with manageable totals. Quality will be prime in the PNW. 

Below: University of Utah ensembles for total snowfall for Bachelor beginning April 1st and continuing somewhat through April 5th at a steady light to moderate pace. Some areas might not open at the summit for several days? 

April fools (30-45 inches of blower for Utah). This is not a joke. Keep reading!

The next big news is a low pressure aimed for Utah beginning Sunday afternoon and continuing through Tuesday night. The models are ballistic for the Cottonwoods showing up to 40 inches of snow through Wednesday. It's possible that higher amounts fall with this storm. Heavy snowfall will intensify Sunday PM to Monday morning (11-16 on the snow reports for many mountains from I-80 to the Cottonwoods). Snow continues to fall at a moderate or heavy rate Monday- Tuesday. The Tuesday snow report might show 25-30 inches (Combined Monday snow and Monday night) for the Cottonwoods and 12-20 inches for the Park City area (Canyons side will likely be deeper). DV might land in the middle of these ranges due to some shadowing with NW flow, but could be a great pick for openings and still decent totals. Big Cottonwood and Little Cottonwood are likely to be closed Sunday night (LCC 100%), and Monday night (LCC 100%) and Tuesday is a wildcard on openings. The chase is a gamble for getting stuck with very little open, or scoring one of the deepest storms of the season. I gambled on the last storm and lost. Winds don't appear as strong as the storm that just departed. Precipitation totals are higher. The northern Wasatch ranges near Ogden or even Beaver (Logan) will also range similar totals to the I-80 corridor and would also be a good chase for Monday and Tuesday. You can't loose in Utah unless you are stuck on Inter lodge watching everyone ski elsewhere. 

Below: You can see the University or Utah experimental modeling showing a steady stream of snow for Alta from Sunday midday to early Wednesday. These amounts are believable in my eyes in looking at the water totals with this storm, and in fact might be underestimated. Is it really April 1st? 

The Tetons continue to ramp up additional snow at a lighter clip Sunday-Tuesday with the heaviest dump coming Saturday night (5-10). Winds are strong currently at press time Saturday evening. 

In looking at models for Colorado some uncertainty exists. The American GFS pulls the low from Utah due north over southern Wyoming (Avoid I-80) sending some decent totals to Steamboat (12-16) Monday/Tuesday. Moderate snow is also likely on the western central areas like Snowmass with much lower amounts on the I-70 corridor and east (4-7).  However, the European Model is pushing the low slightly further south and east that might land some decent totals Tuesday for Eldora, Grand County (Winter Park) and perhaps along I-70. it's possible that the northern side of I-70 sneaks up some good totals with this storm with a bit less confidence for Summit County. Bottom Line Colorado:  Uncertain totals in areas east of Glenwood or along I-70. Higher confidence in Steamboat, and areas west including Snowmass, and Telluride as a wildcard (Likes NW flow but most of the moisture is confined further north). Grand County or even northern Boulder County and RMNP stand a chance. 

Below: University of Utah ensembles showing a hefty dump early next week from April for the higher elevations of Park City. These amounts might be a bit more manageable than what we are going to see in the Cottonwoods. Don't complain about 2 feet plus! 

Below: University of Utah ensembles for Steamboat showing snowfall from April 3rd to April 5th, with some decent totals possible. Models are in a bit of disagreement for snow on the I-70 corridor, but confidence in the Trusty European model show some decent totals north of I-70 close to the Front Range and moderate amounts for many resorts along or south of I-70. The western corridor near Highlands or Snowmass is a solid wildcard also 

Below: The American models at 10:1 ratios (colder temps will produce higher totals than shown) provides a good perspective on areas of the west targeted for the most snow (Oregon, Utah, SE Wyoming). Even the Sierra gets a bit of action. Colorado could be boom or bust and very location dependent. 

Enjoy the powder everyone. See you on the first lifts Sunday. This is not an April Fools Joke. 

Follow @powderchasersteve on Instagram

PCS 

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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