Snow in the West

Western Canada got back in on the action this week with heavy snow for portions of British Columbia and Alberta. Lake Louise came in with the highest total of all ski areas with 36 cm (14") over 3 days, while Fernie picked up 30 cm (12") just in time for their opening day on Thursday.

The storm track will shift south over the next 5 days, and as a result, the Western U.S. will see a much-anticipated return to snowy conditions. Check out our 5-Day Powder Finder (updated multiple times per day) which shows the deepest 5-day snow forecasts. The Pacific Northwest will be favored for the heaviest totals, but good snow can be expected across most of the West.

Forecast for Fri, Dec 11 – Sat, Dec 12

Colorado and New Mexico will be the favored areas on Friday as a storm impacts the Southern Rockies. Snow will also develop across the Pacific Northwest on Friday as a second storm arrives, before spreading into California and across the Central Rockies on Friday night and into Saturday. The first storm will swing into the Upper Midwest on Saturday with heavy snow developing across parts of Michigan.

Forecast for Sun, Dec 13 – Mon, Dec 14

Snow will linger across the Southern Rockies (Colorado and New Mexico) early on Sunday, then the next storm will bring more snow to the Pacific Northwest and Northern/Central Rockies on Sunday and Monday. In the east, the Southern Appalachians will see a round of snow on Monday, and a storm farther north will bring heavy snow to ski areas in Quebec while it will be mostly a rain event south of the border in New England.

Forecast for Tue, Dec 15 – Wed, Dec 16

Colorado will see some leftover snow early on Tuesday, then another storm will bring snow to the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies with heavy totals possible in the BC Coast Range and Washington Cascades. In the East, a stronger system is also possible which could lead to a fun storm for ski areas in the Mid-Atlantic, though there is a lot of uncertainty this far in advance regarding the storm track.

Outlook for Thu, Dec 17 – Mon, Dec 21

A storm moving up the east coast could bring snow to parts of New England on Thursday, but again confidence is low regarding the track of this storm so far in advance. In the West, the storm track will continue to favor the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies with storms arriving every 1-2 days, while California and the Central Rockies could get in on the action to a lesser extent depending on how far south the storms drop.

Thanks so much for reading! Check back for my next post on Monday, December 14th.

ALAN SMITH

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