I'm so sorry for not getting a forecast out as planned yesterday. I had a long day of travel with multiple flight delays and slow to nonexistent airport/airplane internet, only to return home and discover the power and internet had been out in my neighborhood all day. Sorry again! 

Big Picture:

The PNW is in a quiet pattern right now a ridge of high pressure building over the area. This will result in mostly dry conditions (aside from flurries for some areas) as storms will be passing to our south and also to our north. 

Temperatures will start out cold early this week, but will gradually warm up as the week progresses with highs getting above freezing in the Cascades by Wednesday or Thursday.

Forecast and Summary for Western Washington:

Our last storm cycle was minor, resulting in light snow totals for most areas from Thursday through Saturday.

Here are the final 3-day totals from January 26th through 29th:

• 10" - Alpental
• 7" - White Pass
• 4" - Mt. Baker
• 4" - Crystal Mountain
• 3" - Stevens Pass
• 3" - Snoqualmie West

Cold air settled into place over the weekend after an arctic front moved through, but we will see a warming trend over the course of the week as milder air arrives from the west and arctic air retreats.

Highs on Monday and Tuesday will range from the low 20s to upper 20s at mid-mountain elevations before warming up into the low 30s on Wednesday and mid to upper 30s on Thursday. In other words, the best snow conditions can be expected early this week.

Skies should stay mostly clear for the Central and Southern Cascades through Thursday. Two weak disturbances will move across the North Cascades on Tuesday and Wednesday, resulting in more cloud cover along with a chance of light snow showers and flurries at Mt. Baker and Stevens Pass both days. However, any accumulations will be minimal at best. 

Forecast and Summary for Eastern Washington/Northern Idaho:

The last storm cycle resulted in moderate to heavy snow across much of the Inland Northwest on Thursday night and Friday before quickly drying out as an arctic front moved through on Saturday.

Here are the final 2-day snow totals from January 26th through 28th:

• 15" - Silver Mountain
• 13" - Lookout Pass
• 10" - 49º North
• 7" - Bluewood
• 6" - Schweitzer
• 5" - Mt. Spokane

Cold air settled into place over the weekend after an arctic front moved through, but we will see a warming trend over the course of the week as milder air arrives from the west and arctic air retreats.

Highs on Monday will only reach the upper single digits to low teens at mid-mountain elevations before warming up into the upper teens on Tuesday, mid 20s on Wednesday, and low 30s on Thursday. Snow conditions will be best from Monday through Wednesday.

Conditions will remain dry and mostly clear on Monday, then two weak disturbances will slide in from the northwest on Tuesday and Wednesday, bringing a chance of flurries and light snow showers to the Idaho Panhandle, while Eastern Washington will most likely stay dry.

Any accumulations across the Panhandle on Tuesday-Wednesday will be minimal at best.

Forecast and Summary for Oregon:

The last storm cycle brought two rounds of snow to Oregon from Thursday night to Saturday night with decent totals adding up over time. Timberline was the big winner with 17 inches over three days.

Here are the final 3-day snow totals from January 26th through 29th:

• 17" - Timberline
• 10" - Anthony Lakes
• 6" - Mt. Hood Skibowl
• 5" - Mt. Hood Meadows
• 5" - Mt. Bachelor
• 4" - Hoodoo
• 4" - Willamette Pass
• 1" - Mt. Ashland

Cold air settled into place over the weekend after an arctic front moved through, but we will see a warming trend over the course of the week as milder air arrives from the west and arctic air retreats.

Highs on Monday will reach the mid 20s in the Cascades and mid teens across the Blue Mountains. From Tuesday through Thursday, highs will warm up into the low to mid 30s over the Cascades. The Blues will see highs in the mid/upper 20s on Tuesday and Wednesday and low 30s on Thursday.

No precipitation is expected from Monday through Thursday with mostly sunny skies expected.

Outlook for Friday (Feb 3) to Sunday (Feb 5):

A more active pattern will return late this week with two storms during this three-day period.

The first storm will arrive from the southwest on Friday. The storm will be splitting apart as it approaches the coast with a northern piece of energy impacting British Columbia, while the exact track of the southern piece of energy remains in question with regard to whether Washington or Oregon will be most favored.

The next storm will then arrive on Saturday-Sunday. The latest trends have this storm taking a more southerly route that would favor Oregon more so than Washington. The Inland NW is a wildcard depending on just how far south vs north the storm ends up tracking. 

For now, it looks like snow levels will stay below the base areas of most ski resorts, except for lower elevation areas such as Snoqualmie Pass and Mt. Hood Skibowl where a rain/snow mix is more likely near the base areas.

Stay tuned as we get more dialed on the snowfall outlook for this period later in the week.

Outlook for February 6th-13th:

I'm expecting a fairly active pattern during this period with storms arriving on a frequent basis. I like the Feb 6th-10th period the most in terms of snow potential for all areas. After the 10th, I'm seeing some signs that storms will weaken and split apart upon reaching the Coast, which would result in lesser snow potential for the Inland NW while the Cascades could still do ok.

Temperatures are projected to remain near to below average during this period, which should result in snow levels behaving for the most part, though no guarantees for every single storm. 

Thanks so much for reading! Next update on Wednesday (Feb 1).

ALAN SMITH