Summary
There's a light dusting of snow forecast today in Northern Idaho and the West Central Mountains but it's mostly partly cloudy to sunny elsewhere at Idaho's ski areas on Friday. Sunny skies are forecast on Saturday statewide, and then another weak system comes through Sunday to drop 1-3 inches of new snow. That new fluff will help as skiing/riding is very firm on groomers.
Short Term Forecast
Skiing the groomers at Brundage Mountain on Thursday. Conditions are reportedly very firm because of the warm-up that occurred on Wednesday, and then things froze hard overnight. South-facing slopes should warm up in the afternoons this weekend, and some light snow is forecast tonight and Sunday. (Courtesy Brundage Mountain).
Should be a good weekend for skiing and riding under mostly sunny skies on MLK weekend.
Northern Idaho resorts have a 30 percent chance of snow on after 10 a.m. on Friday morning. Less than 1/2 inch is expected. Sunshine is forecast on Saturday and Monday. Another dusting is likely Sunday with a 60 percent chance of snow, with maybe 1-2 to 1-3 inches expected at Schweitzer, Silver and Lookout Pass.
Skiing the groomers on east-facing or south-facing slopes was the ticket at Schweitzer on Thursday. Mostly firm and hard conditions off-trail. (Courtesy Schweitzer Mountain).
A similar forecast is in store at Brundage and Tamarack this weekend. Scattered snow showers are 11 a.m. are forecast at those two resorts in the West-Central Mountains and partly sunny skies. Only a 30 percent chance of snow, so maybe a light dusting will occur. Another weak storm will pass through Sunday, and skies will clear off on Monday for MLK Day.
Elsewhere, it looks like all sunshine at Bogus Basin, Soldier Mountain, Sun Valley, Pomerelle, Magic Mountain and Pebble Creek in Southern Idaho and Southwest Idaho from Friday through next Wednesday.
Extended Forecast
GFS for the next 10 days shows a little bit of snow coming our way ... but not a lot.
Announcements
OpenSnow Forecast Data Update
On Tuesday (1/12), we began updating the automated forecasts on OpenSnow with a proprietary blend of data from the GFS (American), GDPS (Canadian), and ECMWF (European) weather models.
Previously, we combined information from our local forecasters, the National Weather Service (NOAA), and data from the ECMWF (European) weather model. This method only provided hourly data for the United States and relied on a single model to produce our snow forecasts for the next 10 days.
Why is this new forecast data better than the old forecast data? The benefits include:
- Blending multiple global models increases accuracy and confidence in the forecast.
- Hourly data for any location in the world.
- Proprietary snow-to-liquid calculation to improve accuracy, especially in colder environments.
- Improved method for calculating the snow level (elevation that separates rain from snow) to provide a more realistic forecast, especially at the beginning of storms and during times of intense snowfall.
- Ability to create a forecast for any location and elevation to ensure that we are forecasting conditions on the mountain and not for a nearby town.
We also plan to add even more global and high-resolution models into our proprietary forecast blend over time. Our goal is to create the most accurate snow forecast and we're just getting started.
The data can be viewed as hourly forecasts for the next 5 days and daily forecasts for the next 10 days. Available data includes:
- Chance of Precipitation
- Day & Night Snow Forecast
- Day & Night Snow Level
- Daily High & Low Temperature
- Hourly Temperature
- Hourly Wind Speed
- Hourly Wind Gust
- Hourly Cloud Cover %
This new blend of forecast data is available on OpenSnow for over 2,000 locations around the world and we are adding new locations every day.
Explore Locations → OpenSnow.com/explore
Never miss another powder day with All-Access.
Features
- Unlimited Daily Snows
- 10-Day Snow Forecasts
- Hourly Forecasts
- Advanced Map Overlays
- Daily Snow Email Delivery
- OpenSummit All-Access
"It is well worth the All-Access upgrade considering you get access to a 10-day HIGHLY accurate forecast. It’s a small price to pay for finding fresh powder."
— App Review
