Upcoming pattern favors the Southwest

US and Canada Daily Snow

Heads up, there may be fresher snow! Read the latest US and Canada Daily Snow

By Alan Smith, Meteorologist Posted 3 years ago January 22, 2021

Summary

The storm track will shift south over the next 5-7 days with heavy snow expected across Utah, Arizona, and the San Juans in Colorado, while Tahoe will start to pick up some good snow starting on Monday and continuing through much of next week. In the East, snow showers will continue across New England on Friday-Saturday, followed by a storm that will impact the Mid-Atlantic on Monday-Tuesday.

Short Term Forecast

Snowy pattern ahead for the Southwest

A series of storms will favor the Southwest for heavy snow totals this weekend and into next week, including Southwest Colorado, Utah, California, Arizona, and New Mexico. Check out the snow forecast "plume" for Wolf Creek, Colorado which shows the snowfall totals projected by over 50 models, the majority of which are in the 20-40 inch range from Friday through Wednesday (January 22nd-27th).

Forecast for Fri, Jan 22 – Sun, Jan 24

Light to moderate snow will fall across the Sierras and parts of the Central Rockies on Friday as a storm moves down the West Coast. The storm will then strengthen as it slowly moves east on Saturday and Sunday with heavy snow falling across the Four Corners region and extending farther north into the Wasatch.

A storm will also reach the Pacific Northwest on Sunday with snow falling in the Cascades and Coast Range along with low snow levels — approaching sea level in some areas.

A series of weak storms will continue to bring more snow to the Northeast and New England on Friday and Saturday, before drying out on Sunday.

Forecast for Mon, Jan 25 – Tue, Jan 26

The next storm will continue to produce light snow across the Pacific Northwest early on Monday, then the storm will dive into the Southwest with heavy snow falling from Tahoe to Northern Arizona to Southwest Colorado on Monday and Tuesday. A storm will also impact the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Monday and Tuesday with all-snow currently expected for Northern Pennsylvania and points north, while areas farther south could see a mix of snow and rain.

Forecast for Wed, Jan 27

The next storm will reach the West Coast on Wednesday, and the latest trends are hinting at a favorable pattern for Tahoe and the Sierras with heavy snow possible, while lighter snow is expected farther north in the Cascades.

Extended Forecast

Outlook for Thu, Jan 28 – Mon, Feb 1

The storm track will continue to favor Tahoe and to a lesser extent the Southwest and Southern Rockies during the early portion of this period. Later in this period, the main storm track will start to lift farther north with the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies becoming the more favored regions for snow. In the East, a storm will be possible around January 28th-29th.