Summary
The Northern Rockies will be the place to ride the deepest powder during the first week of April. Then, from April 7-8, a stronger storm should bring snow to the central Rockies, including California, Utah, and Colorado.
Short Term Forecast
This forecast is NOT an April fools joke. I would never want to give you false hope for powder, so despite many reader’s requests for me have some fun on the first day of April, I’ll give you the truthful, non-humorous forecast.
The snow forecast map for the first week of April, from the 2nd through the 6th, shows that the Northern Rockies will likely get double-digit snow totals. The strongest storm should bring powder on Monday, though additional snow through the week will keep conditions soft. Further south, Colorado should receive a few inches on Tuesday morning and again on Friday.
Looking ahead to the first weekend in April, a stronger storm will push into the western US and Canada, and because it will take a more west-to-east trajectory, is should bring snow to all mountain areas and not just to the Northern Rockies. Look for potential powder days on Saturday, Sunday, and/or Monday for parts of California, Utah, and Colorado, and be mindful of the temperatures and snow levels, which will start high during the first (warm) part of the storm.
Extended Forecast
The second week of April, from the 9th to the 13th, should continue to bring cool air and chances for snow to the Northeast and also the Northwest. I bet that one of the Northwestern storms will also drop far enough to the south to bring additional snow to California, Utah, and Colorado.
This is going to be my last US and Canada Daily Snow for the 2018-2019 season. Of course there will be more powder to ski through April (and May), and you can always check our forecasts for each mountain, which are updated twice per day, as well as the local Daily Snows, which will continue as long as powder is in the forecast.
To wrap up this season, below is a map showing the snowpack compared to the average for March 31, 2018. The white numbers show the percent of average, and the colors correspond to the numbers, with green and blue colors showing near or above average snowpack.
This is a reasonably typical pattern for a La Nina winter (cooler than average ocean water temperatures in the central Pacific Ocean). The dominant storm track was over the Northwest and the Northern Rockies, with less snow further south. Sometimes, during La Nina seasons, this storm track can shift a bit further north or south, and not every La Nina season has a dominant northern storm track. But this is what we had during the winter of 2017-2018.
Thanks so much for using OpenSnow this season, and check back in the fall of 2018 to see what we might have in store for the 2018-2019 season.
Also, stay tuned to your local Daily Snow forecasts for updates through the spring, and keep your eye on “The Chase Daily Snow” (see link below) as Powderchaser Steve will keep pointing you to the goods until the goods are gone!
Thanks for reading and for your support of OpenSnow!
JOEL GRATZ
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