Early week freshies across the West

A split flow storm resulted in new snowfall across both the Northwest and Southwest early this week with light to moderate snow totals for the most part, though some areas scored isolated heavier totals. Marmot Basin (pictured below) was the big winner in Canada with 27 cm (11") reported over 3 days. 

In the states, California saw a welcome round of snow with new reports on Tuesday including 10" at China Peak, 9" at Bear Valley, and 8" at Mammoth. Arizona Snowbowl was reporting 7" of new snow as of Tuesday, while deeper snow reports will likely be coming in across Colorado (especially the San Juans) and New Mexico on Wednesday morning.

Forecast for Wed 3/30 – Thu 3/31:

Snow will continue across Colorado and New Mexico on Wednesday before tapering off on Wednesday night. The next storm will bring light to moderate snow along with lower snow levels (compared to recent storms) across British Columbia, Alberta, and Washington with light snow reaching the Northern U.S. Rockies as well as the Tetons and Wasatch later on Thursday.

A strong storm will also impact the Midwest/Great Lakes region with a mix of rain, ice, and snow to start on Wednesday before transitioning to all-snow for most ski regions on Thursday. Check out the Midwest Daily Snow for the latest on this complex storm.

Forecast for Fri 4/1 – Sat 4/2:

Light to moderate snow will continue across the Central Rockies (UT, WY, CO) into early Friday before tapering off Friday afternoon. The next storm will begin to impact Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest on Friday-Friday night with snow picking up across Idaho and Montana on Saturday.

A storm will also impact the Northeast with rain expected on Friday before changing over to snow behind a cold front on Saturday, which will result in improving weekend ski conditions for areas that are still open.

Forecast for Sun 4/3 – Mon 4/4:

A stronger series of storms will begin to impact the West on Sunday and Monday with heavy snow possible across British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon resulting in late season powder days. The storm track is a bit more uncertain further east across the Rockies, but moderate snowfall is possible from Alberta to Colorado as well. 

Light snow showers/flurries will remain possible across the Northeast on Sunday, then another weaker but warmer disturbance will arrive on Monday with a mix of rain and snow showers possible.

Outlook for Tue 4/5 – Sat 4/9:

The previous storm cycle will likely impact the Central Rockies (WY, UT, CO) on Tuesday with the potential for decent snow totals. High pressure will then build over the Western U.S. for a few days before the storm door opens again late in the period with snow chances returning to Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest.

Thanks so much for reading! Next update on Friday (4/1).

ALAN SMITH