Next storm cycle favors Central & Southern Rockies

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 2 years ago December 29, 2021

Summary

Deep totals continue to add up across Tahoe where most ski resorts have received over 100 inches of snow in the past 5-7 days! An active pattern will continue across the West to close out the year with the next storm cycle bringing heavy snow to UT, CO, WY, AZ, and NM. Next week, the Pacific Northwest, Tahoe, and Northern Rockies will be favored.

Short Term Forecast

Next storm takes aim at Utah and Colorado while Tahoe digs out

Snowfall totals in Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada Range over the past week have been staggering with over 100 inches recorded at most ski resorts. This has now been the snowiest December on record for the Donner Summit Snow Lab in the Central Sierra and the third snowiest month of all time.

The rest of the West has also scored deep snow totals over the past week, and the next storm cycle from Wednesday through Saturday morning will favor the Central and Southern Rockies with resorts in Utah and Colorado in line to see the most snow.

Forecast for Wed 12/29 – Thu 12/30:

Snow will linger over the Southern Sierra on Wednesday with light to moderate snow moving into the Central Rockies. A stronger storm will then arrive on Thursday with moderate snow for the Northwest and heavy snow developing across the Rockies.

A moist southwest flow over SoCal will also result in heavy snow for ski resorts near LA such as Mt. Baldy and Mountain High.

A series of weak disturbances will bring generally light snow to the Upper Midwest and Northeast.

Forecast for Fri 12/31 – Sat 1/1:

A strong storm will continue to impact the Central and Southern Rockies on Friday and into the first part of the day on Saturday with deep powder conditions to ring in the New Year. Light snow will linger over Oregon early on Friday with a round of light snow arriving in Washington on Saturday.

A strong storm will impact the Coast Range of Northwest BC and SE Alaska on Saturday with heavy snow expected.

The East will also see a strong but warm storm arrive on Saturday with mostly rain expected even for the Northern New England resorts.

Forecast for Sun 1/2 – Mon 1/3:

A strong storm will bring heavy snow to Southwest British Columbia on Sunday before spreading southward into the Cascades on Monday. Colder air will arrive in the East on Sunday on the backside of the weekend storm with rain changing over to snow, but only light amounts are expected at this time.

Extended Forecast

Outlook for Tue 1/4 – Sat 1/8:

The storm track will favor the Pacific Northwest, Northern Rockies, and Tahoe during this period with significant snow totals possible. Temperatures will warm back up across the East after a brief cooldown early in this period, and storms will likely result in a mixed bag of precipitation as a result.