Snow on the Ground

I have enjoyed keeping an eye on the snow depth maps produced by the National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center. Let's look at two additional maps that tell a good story.

The snow depth map from October 14, one week ago, shows relatively shallow snow depth across the western United States and Canada.

Now, following a week of stormy weather, the current snow depth map on October 21 tells a better story. Depths have increased in British Columbia, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado.

Will the atmosphere keep adding to our early-season base?

Forecast for Mon, Oct 21 – Tue, Oct 22

The weather pattern on Monday and Tuesday will favor cold air and snowfall in British Columbia and also along and just east of the continental divide in the United States, including eastern Idaho, western Montana, and parts of Wyoming and Colorado.

Forecast for Wed, Oct 23 – Thu, Oct 24

Later in the week, the weather pattern will not change much as snow will favor the eastern mountains of Montana, Idaho, and Colorado. Also, southeast Alaska is going to get back on the storm train.

Outlook for Fri, Oct 25 – Tue, Oct 29

The main change from last week’s forecast is that the outlook for the end of October has shifted the colder air back to the west just a bit. This will bring lower temperatures and likely bring some snowfall to parts of Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado.

In the graphic above, I show a dashed line for a potential storm tracking through the southwest. I have low confidence in the details, but if this southwestern storm track winds up happening, it could bring deep snow to the interior Rockies. We’ll see!

Thanks so much for reading, and check back for my next post on Thursday, October 24th.

JOEL GRATZ

See where to chase powder → https://opensnow.com/dailysnow/chase

Find your local forecast → https://opensnow.com/explore

Download our free mobile app → https://opensnow.com/about/app