Wednesday Clouds & Sun

We shall see a final day of partly sunny weather on Wednesday during the day. The snow shouldn't start falling until later in the evening. Temps will be in the mid 30's at the bases and upper 20's up on the mtn. 

Winds are starting to pick up out of the Southwest. We are likely to see stronger gusts by late morning into the afternoon. Gusts could be up to 60 MPH by the mid to late afternoon so be prepared for lift closures on the upper mtn. 

Wednesday Night - Thursday Storm 

Our storm is on track and if anything the precip amounts may have gone up slightly for our area. At this time I'm seeing the average between 0.50 to 0.90 inches of liquid. Snow levels are still starting out around 6,500 FT and then dropping to about 5,500 FT by Thursday morning. That means snow-to-water ratios are still in the 9 to 11:1 range for the bases and up to 15:1 up on the summit. 

My forecasted totals for this storm are going up just slightly to 5 - 11 inches of snow at Main Lodge by Friday morning with most of it falling between Wednesday night and mid-Thursday morning. The summit could reach a foot of snow on the high end, but keep expectations lower in the 8 - 10 inch range. 

Winds will be very strong on Thursday morning and might calm slightly Thursday late afternoon. It's not likely the top will open on Thursday with the 60+ Southwest winds. Temps will be cold on Thursday so it will definitely feel like winter. 

Friday - Weekend Storm Sliding South

The models are starting to catch onto the idea that the bigger storm for the Friday - Weekend timeframe will be sliding South down the Coast and not impacting our region nearly as much. We'll still see snow... but the odds are lower now that we'll see double-digit amounts. 

Mammoth will be right on the cusp of higher totals, so there's still a chance we could do okay in this storm. It's going to heavily depend on the exact position and duration the slow-moving low-pressure system that could rotate in waves of energy. 

The current forecasted precip amounts are in the 1.10 to 1.30 inch range, but they are trending downwards. So, technically the forecast still calls for about a foot of snow my confidence in that is decreasing. We shall see where the models stand tomorrow for a hopefully more accurate forecast. 

My snowfall forecast at Main Lodge this morning is for 11 to 14 inches. That is down a bit from yesterday and we'll see if it drops tomorrow as well. This now includes any remaining snow showers that come through on Sunday.  So, this total represents everything that might fall between Friday through Sunday.. ie. not that much snow overall. 

Temps will be cold Friday through Sunday with highs in the mid 20's at the bases and teens over the mtn. Snow levels will be lower in the 4,500 to 5K FT range during the storm. Winds will not be as strong as we normally get due to a lack of strong jet-stream support. Gusts might top out around 40 MPH out of the Southwest Friday - Sunday. Either way expect it to feel like winter through the weekend as March closes out. 

We will likely start next week on a dry note. Temps look to warm quickly back into the mid 40's at the bases by Tuesday as ridge builds overhead. That doesn't last long though as both models suggest the ridge moves Eastward and is replaced by a trough. 

Currently, I'm not seeing major storms but we have the potential for more precip and snowfall next week especially by the end of it. Temps look to drop substantially by Thursday into Friday of next week back into the low 30's and 20. 

I'll keep you updated. We have 2 storms to get through still in March before we can get into the musings of April. 

Till the next one... Mike out. 

NEW: Snow Ratio Forecast

You can now get a good idea of the upcoming snow quality for the next storm via our new "Snow Ratio" forecast for any location in OpenSnow.

When we talk about snow quality, such as “light and fluffy” or “heavy and wet”, we are talking about the snow-to-liquid ratio. The higher the snow-to-liquid ratio, the lighter the snow quality, and vice-versa.

1. Go to any location screen and tap the "Snow Summary" tab.
2. Scroll down to the 5-day hourly or 10-day forecast section.
3. View the 5-day hourly or daily "Snow Ratio" forecast for the next 10 days.

10:1 will be fun but will feel a little heavy. 15:1 will offer some faceshots and feel pretty light. 20:1 will be incredibly light, almost like skiing through nothing but air.

This new feature is currently available with the latest version of the OpenSnow iOS app installed (App Store > OpenSnow > Update) or on the OpenSnow website (OpenSnow.com). It will be available in the OpenSnow Android app soon.

View → Snow Ratio Forecast