Recent snow in the Southern Rockies and Pacific Northwest

A storm early this week brought good snow totals to Colorado and New Mexico on Monday and Tuesday with the heaviest preliminary totals at Wolf Creek, Telluride, and Keystone. Another storm in the Pacific Northwest has brought more snow to British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon on Tuesday. Check out the snowy scene from Stevens Pass, Washington on Tuesday afternoon.

Forecast for Wed, Nov 25 – Thu, Nov 26

The best snow on Wednesday can be expected in British Columbia, Alberta, Washington, and Oregon where open ski resorts can expect a solid powder day. The storm will weaken as it moves to the southeast on Wednesday night with lighter snow for the Northern U.S. Rockies.

The next storm brewing in the Gulf of Alaska will bring another round of heavy snow to Alaska and Northwest British Columbia on Thursday. In the East, a storm will bring a round of light snow to Northern New England on Wednesday night, but most areas will see a changeover to rain on Thursday.

Forecast for Fri, Nov 27 – Sat, Nov 28

Heavy snow will fall across Western and Northern British Columbia, as well as Southeast Alaska, on Friday with lighter amounts extending south of the border into the Washington Cascades. A weak storm will also produce some light snow in New Mexico and Southern Colorado on Friday and early Saturday.

Forecast for Sun, Nov 29 – Mon, Nov 30

Sunday will be quiet for most areas, except for Northwest British Columbia and Southeast Alaska who will continue to get dumped on. Southwest British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon will then see a round of snow on Monday, while a stronger storm moving into the eastern half of the country will bring snow to Michigan ski areas starting on Monday.

Outlook for Tue, Dec 1 – Sat, Dec 5

The pattern will undergo a shift during the first week of December toward a western ridge of high pressure and eastern trough of low pressure configuration. This pattern shift will at least open the door to better storm potential and colder temperatures across the Northeast and Mid Atlantic, while most of Western North America transitions into a drier pattern except way up north where the storm track continues to bring more snow to Northwest BC and Alaska.

Thanks so much for reading and (for our U.S. readers) have a Happy Thanksgiving! Check back for my next post on Friday, November 27th.

ALAN SMITH

NEW: Avalanche Forecasts

Avalanche Forecasts are now available on OpenSnow and they are free for everyone to view (other maps, like Estimated Snow Depth and Current & Future Radar, are available exclusively to All-Access subscribers).

As you prepare to go into the backcountry or sidecountry, first check the Avalanche Forecast map layer and tap any colored region for more details.

The real-time Avalanche Forecast and conditions information is available for the United States and Canada on our website as well as in the OpenSnow iOS app and Android app.

The data is sourced directly from local avalanche centers and should be used by experienced backcountry travelers in uncontrolled sidecountry and backcountry terrain.

This information does not apply to open, in-bounds terrain at ski resorts, which is subject to avalanche control by local resort ski patrol.

View → Avalanche Forecasts