The upcoming week, through Friday, February 23, will bring the most snow to the western US, and specifically, parts of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. During this time, the northern Rockies will be dry and the east coast will be warm. If you’re looking for powder, head to the central and/or southern Rockies.

Moving ahead to the final weekend in February, the storm track will shift north just a bit, and this should bring powder back to the northwest and the Northern Rockies. Also, the far northern parts of New England might stay cold enough for snow while the rest of the northeast will see warmer temperatures and likely rain instead of snow.

The map below shows the forecast for temperatures compared to average for the last five days of February. The west is clearly colder than average while most of the east is warmer than average (except for northern New England).

Once we get into March, there will likely be a subtle shift in the pattern, with the east cooling off, the west coast (especially California) perhaps getting colder, and something mixed for the central Rockies.

We cannot place high trust in forecasts beyond about 10 days, even for general weather patterns, so while this forecast for a slight shift is shown in multiple models, the atmosphere usually has some tricks up its sleeve. Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading!

JOEL GRATZ

Trip Report from Winter Park: On Sunday, February 11th, our own Sam Collentine explored Winter Park and wrote a guide to give you the first-hand details → http://opsw.co/wptripreport