West of the Continental Divide: 

Below: The snow magnet that is Lookout Pass with heavy snow continuing to fall Thursday morning. Just an FYI that Montana shares Lookout with Idaho as it straddles the border. Lookout is also a popular destination for Missoula based skiers and boarders. 

 

Waves of moisture continue to move through all of Western Montana as an active SW flow delivers an atmospheric river (AR) over pools of arctic air already in place across the Westside. Most locations will see an additional 4 – 8” Thursday through Friday morning. Temps will continue to be well below seasonal averages with 15:1 (cold and feathery) snow ratios.  

For Friday, snow showers continue across the region generally ending before noon. Another 1 – 3” are possible during the day on Friday under heavier snow showers, especially at Discovery and Lost Trail across the SW reaches of Western Montana. 

Saturday looks benign with a mix of sun and clouds with a slight chance of a light flurry or two. A northerly flow aloft will keep the temps well below average through the weekend. Slight change to the forecast as high pressure is now expected to build on Sunday delivering a clear and crisp day across the region. 

A SW flow appears to deliver a few weak systems on Sunday night into Monday bringing a return of measurable snow to the forecast. They also hint at yet another arctic incursion across NW Montana on Monday. Details are a little fuzzy at this point but I should have a clearer picture in my next update on Saturday 12/3.      

East of the Continental Divide:

An upper level trough of low pressure will move into the Northern Rockies Thursday and Thursday night. Heavy snowfall is currently happening across the Rocky Mountain Front (Teton Pass Ski Area) and on the webcam at Showdown in the Little Belt Mountains of North/Central Montana. Snow will continue through the evening before the storm moves out overnight Thursday. Storm totals of 7 – 9” are expected for these ski areas by Friday morning. 

This moisture feed will be moving in a southeasterly direction with snowfall beginning at Bridger Bowl during the mid to late afternoon hours on Thursday and continuing through the night with 3 – 6” likely. Similar timing at Big Sky but due to its location closer to a more robust flow of moisture in the West Yellowstone vicinity, snow totals could possibly approach a foot. We’ll go conservatively with 4 – 8” likely by Friday morning.

Cold arctic air will trail behind the departing storm system on Friday. As usual, SW areas like Big Sky and Red Lodge will not be as frigid as points north, but it still will be quite chilly with a high of 8F at Big Sky (8800’) on Friday. Showdown will see a high of 5F at their base lodge location on Friday. Generally, cloudy skies with a few lingering snow showers are possible. 

A weak high-pressure ridge will create a westerly flow aloft drying things out along with ushering in warmer air for the weekend. Partly to mostly sunny skies are in store for both Saturday and Sunday with high temps in the low 20’s at 8000’ on Saturday, with mid to upper 20’s on Sunday. Light and variable SW winds through the weekend. 

As another trough of Pacific low-pressure begins its journey eastward on Sunday, look for increasing clouds Sunday night with numerous snow showers with a 40% chance of 1 – 3” by Monday morning for most mountain locations across the Eastside. Red Lodge could possibly see 4 – 6” through Monday. Yet another shot of arctic air will ride along with this frontal passage bringing daytime temps back down into the low to middle teens on Monday. 

Below: Canadian high-resolution model for projected snowfall over Montana for the period Thursday - Friday depicts a slight weakening of the moisture feed as it moves west to east over the Continental Divide. 

West and East of the Continental Divide: 

Weather models are bringing a NW flow into the picture on Monday night into Tuesday keeping chances of snow showers and light accumulations a possibility. High pressure is now favored to build in for an extended stay for the period Wednesday through Sunday. Temps look to stay below seasonal averages through the long term thus keeping our above-average snowpack in a good place. 

Below: Euro model weather animation for the extended period Sunday 12/4 - Saturday 12/10 shows a weak system for Sunday night - Tuesday followed by an extended (and dry) high pressure ridge. 

Thanks for tuning in, my next update will be on Saturday,12/3.  

Powder Out – 
 

Bob

OPENING Dates - Montana Ski Areas & Resorts / Geographical References   

WEST of the Divide: 

Whitefish Mountain Resort – Closed, Opening Thursday, Dec 8th

Blacktail Mountain –Closed, Opening TBA

Turner Mountain – Closed, Opening TBA

Lookout Pass (MT/ID)  - OPEN Nov. 28, closed midweek, REOPENS Dec 2nd

Montana Snowbowl – Closed, Opening Dec 10th

Discovery Basin – OPEN WEEKENDS ONLY    

Lost Trail Powder Mountain –OPENING Thurs DEC 1^st (Thurs – Sun)     

EAST of the Divide:

Big Sky Resort – OPEN daily

Bridger Bowl – Closed, Opening Dec 9th

Red Lodge Mountain – OPEN daily  

Great Divide – REOPENING Dec. 3 – 4^th  

Showdown – REOPENING – Dec. 3 – 4^th

Teton Pass Ski Area –Closed, Opening Dec 9th

Maverick Mountain – Closed, Opening TBA 

 

Backcountry Avalanche Reports:

West Central Montana Avalanche Center

http://missoulaavalanche.org 

 Flathead Avalanche Center

 http://www.flatheadavalanche.org

Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center:

http://www.mtavalanche.com

 

 Estimated Snow Reports

If ski resort locations are closed or do not provide OpenSnow with an official snow report, we use our proprietary weather data to provide an estimated snow report for the past 24 hours. Check for the "Estimated" badge on the OpenSnow app and website.

This also applies to any backcountry location or "custom location", meaning that you can get an idea of recent snow conditions and an estimated snowfall history for your favorite backcountry spots.

This data is available exclusively to All-Access subscribers. Snow reports that are provided to OpenSnow from the ski resorts will always be free.