Back to Winter, For Now...

Colorado and Utah had the headlines to start the week before the Pacific Northwest came in and stole the show. Totals across the region as of Tuesday include 24 inches in 48 hours at Silver Mountain in Idaho, 21 inches at Mt. Baker in Washington, and 11 inches at Whitewater in British Columbia.

Here was the scene at Alta Ski Area on Monday after they received 12 inches, courtesy of Utah Forecaster Evan Thayer. We take quality control very seriously here at OpenSnow so great work, Evan.

In this week's episode of The Flakes Podcast, we run through the top snow reports from the past week, the upcoming snow forecast, the long-range weather discussion, and the top 10 ski resort snowfall list for the United States.

Listen via Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Forecast for Wed 3/16 – Thu 3/17:

Alaska, western Canada, and Colorado will be the focus over the next two days as a strong storm cycle continues up north, while one storm drops down into the Rockies.

This storm is not a slam dunk for Colorado as it will likely favor the eastern mountains and not the majority of the ski areas for the deepest totals. Target Thursday morning for fresh turns.

Forecast for Fri 3/18 – Sat 3/19:

The first half of the weekend will then feature snow down the spine of the West Coast, including California. Snow totals for Saturday, March 19 will likely only range from 2-8 inches but hey, it's something!

There could then be light snow across the Upper Midwest and further north into New England but warmer temps and the northern storm track will likely keep snow totals very light, if anything.

Forecast for Sun 3/20 – Mon 3/21:

There could then be a very interesting storm on the horizon for Colorado early next week as quiet weather settles in elsewhere. There is still very, very low confidence in the details but the American GFS continues to hint at significant snow totals through Monday, March 21. I would keep a close eye on the Colorado Daily Snow for further updates as we get closer.

Outlook for Tue 3/22 – Sat 3/26:

Looking ahead to the second half of next week, the pattern will turn relatively quiet for most of the United States as the main storm track slides further north.

Storms will likely continue to favor Alaska and western Canada before sliding further east into the Northeast. The storm track could dip just enough to the south during the middle of the week for slider storms to bring fresh snow to the Rockies but confidence is very low at this point.

Thanks for reading! Next update on Friday (3/18).

SAM COLLENTINE