February finishes on a deep note across the Northwest

February was a very active month for much of North America, and the snowy pattern continued right through the end of the month across the Northwest. During the last 5 days of the month, Crystal Mountain (WA) was the big winner with 45 inches of snow, while The Summit at Snoqualmie also picked up an additional 21 inches. Check out this powder shot from Snoqualmie during one of their storms last week.

Additional deep totals over the five-day period from February 24th-28th include 41" at Powder King (Northern BC), 32" at Grand Targhee (WY), 28" at Powder Mountain (UT), 27" at Brundage (ID), and 24" at Mt. Hood Meadows (OR).

Forecast for Mon, Mar 1 – Tue, Mar 2

The storm track early this week will favor Northern British Columbia, especially the Coast Range where very heavy snow is expected. A storm will bring widespread rain to the Northeast on Monday, but a strong cold front will arrive behind this storm with much colder temperatures on Tuesday along with light to moderate snow showers developing. 

Forecast for Wed, Mar 3 – Thu, Mar 4

The Coast Range in Central and Northern British Columbia will continue to be the one area that gets slammed with storms and heavy snow. Farther south, a weaker storm will move into the Southwest with moderate snow developing across the Four Corners region, favoring the San Juans in Colorado. The Northeast will continue to see light snow showers or flurries, mainly on Wednesday. 

Forecast for Fri, Mar 5 – Sat, Mar 6

The next storm will bring more snow to British Columbia on Friday and Saturday – this time favoring areas farther south in the Coast Range and into the Northern Washington Cascades as well. Meanwhile, a storm will also track farther south with snow expected to develop across California later on Saturday. The Northeast will remain unsettled with light snow showers and flurries, but nothing significant.

Outlook for Sun, Mar 7 – Thu, Mar 11

Heading into the second week of March, an active pattern is expected to develop along the West Coast with California being the most favored to see significant snow. Storms will initially struggle to hold together farther inland across the Rockies. By later in this period, the storm track should become more progressive with better snow potential returning to the Rockies. 

Thanks so much for reading! Check back for my next post on Wednesday, March 3rd.

ALAN SMITH

NEW: Estimated Snowfall Maps

In addition to the Current & Forecast Radar, Estimated Snow Depth, Wind Gust Forecast, and Avalanche Forecast maps, we now have Estimated 24-Hour Snowfall and Estimated Season-to-Date Snowfall map layers on OpenSnow!

The data will update daily, around 20z (1 PM Mountain), with the latest available information. The delay in updating to the early afternoon is due to the accuracy of the data being improved each hour after it’s initially available at 14z (7 AM Mountain).

NOAA continues to update the data each hour with the latest available data from SNOTEL sites and local observations and we’ve found that the quality/accuracy improves significantly after about 6 hours.

And to clarify one more time, these new maps are estimates and they will not always match what is reported on OpenSnow, directly from the ski resorts.

For the OpenSnow iOS app, make sure you’re updated to v3.5.5

For the OpenSnow Android app, make sure you’re updated to v3.5.6

View all of our map overlays on any device by upgrading to All-Access for $29.99/year (Single) or $39.99/year (Group). The subscription includes unlimited Daily Snow reads, 5-day hourly forecasts, 10-day snow forecasts, and much more.

More Info → NEW: Estimated Snowfall Maps