One Final Sunny Day 

It will be sunny and fairly warm on Friday. Highs in the low to mid 50's are expected across the mtns. Winds will start to pick up later in the day on Friday out of the South-Southwest. 

Weekend Storm

This is undoubtedly the last snowstorm of the season for at least 3 ski areas, but it's very possible it's the final one for everyone, depending on when the last 2 ski areas close. Get your final powder turns in this weekend, for you'll have to wait till next season. 

Overall the details of this storm have not changed much. It will be snowy and stormy especially on Saturday with only wrap-up showers on Sunday. The snow will be very heavy initially and by Saturday night it might turn a little bit lighter. 

Both days will be cold with temps in the mid 30's on Saturday and upper 20's on Sunday. Winds will be very gusty on Saturday out of the South-Southwest up to 45 MPH. They will decrease to around 25 MPH on Sunday. 

Precip Forecast 

Take a look at the precip graphics below to get a feel for this storm. 

The Euro is the most bullish of the 3 and pushing the most precip into the Big Bear region. The WPC model is a nice blend between the 2 this go around. I generally think the San Gabriel ski areas won't see more than about 0.45 to 0.65 inches of liquid, while the Big Bear region should be in the 0.25 to 0.35 range.  

Snow Levels & Snowfall Forecast 

The best snowfall accumulation window will be Saturday night. It will be coldest then and ti looks like the m most precip will be falling around that time. I'm seeing snow levels start close to 7K FT and then drop to 4,500 FT by Saturday night. They could be rising close to 6K FT on Sunday. 

So, snow ratios will be in the 5 to 6:1 range initially, and then they might jump as high as 11:1 Saturday night. This storm has cold air but it needs to get to us to make a difference and with these low-pressure systems sometimes it takes longer for that to happen. We'll just have to see how it plays out. If the snow levels stay higher everyone will get much less snow and it will be mostly a rain event at the 7K FT level. 

I'm not expecting this, but it's always a possibility in these setups. 

I'm sticking with 3 - 6 inches for the San Gabriel's through Sunday night and 1 - 3 inches for the Big Bear Mtns. Most of the snow will fall Saturday night into Sunday mid-day. By Sunday afternoon we'll only have showers that are clearing the area. Initially, the precip will start as rain on Saturday morning before the colder air arrives. 

I'm fairly confident we'll see accumulations across the board and anywhere above 8K FT we could see closer to 6 - 8 inches in select spots in the San Gabriel's. 

We'll tally up the totals on Monday morning since I'm expecting a little snow on Sunday to fall.

Next week we really should go back to a Spring pattern with sunny skies and mild to warmer temps. You can see on the GFS Ensemble Mean Height graphic below that a ridge will build just off the coast. 

That will keep us warmer but not hot as the ridge will not centered over us. It's likely that temps should be either seasonal or just above. 

As for precip, you can see below that our chances really dwindle and that we end below average to near average, which is low for this time of year for us. 

I'm expecting a dry and quiet week for the most part. It will be the final week for potentially 2 ski areas, including Mtn. High & Snow Summit. And it's already the last weekend for Bear Mtn. & Snow Valley this weekend so our season is drawing to a close for sure. 

I will be traveling for work on Saturday and Sunday. I will update you with the snowfall totals on Monday morning and a quick outlook for next week. I will be out in the field for the next 2 weeks, so my posts will likely be shorter... and given that it's April I should have less to talk about in general. We'll see what this winter has left for us.. 

Till the next one... Mike out. 

Summer Weather: How To Use OpenSnow

As the snow begins to melt and summer conditions quickly take over, remember that you can use OpenSnow as your go-to weather app during the non-winter months.

Get started by going to...

1. Favorites > Weather
2. Location > Weather
3. Maps > Weather

Switch to using your "Summer" favorites list, check the "Weather" tab on both the Favorites screen and any location screen, and avoid poor air quality & incoming storms with our summer-focused map layers in the OpenSnow app.

You can also view the hourly forecast for the next 10 days for any location on Earth in OpenSnow.

1. Go to the "Maps" tab.
2. Tap anywhere or search for a city.
3. Tap "View Forecast".

View → Summer Forecasts