Weekend snow outlook for the West:

Sunny skies and fall colors will be replaced by snow and winter-like temperatures across the West this weekend. The storm will initially impact the Pacific Northwest on Friday, before dumping snow across the Rockies on Saturday and Sunday.

Double-digit snow totals are likely for many ski resorts from Friday through Sunday. Resorts with the deepest forecasts include Alta/Snowbird (UT), Brighton (UT), Wolf Creek (CO), Big Sky (MT), Grand Targhee (WY), and Eagle Point (UT).

Forecast for Fri 10/21 – Sat 10/22:

The mentioned weekend storm will impact the Northwest and British Columbia on Friday with moderate snow expected, before moderate to heavy snow develops across the Northern Rockies on Saturday. Light snow can be expected as far south as the Tahoe area as well, while things will be just getting underway for the Wasatch in Utah. 

Forecast for Sun 10/23 – Mon 10/24:

Heavy snow can be expected throughout the Central Rockies on Sunday with deep totals adding up across Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. On Monday, the storm will split apart with the northern piece of energy moving into the Black Hills with drying conditions across the Eastern Rockies, while the southern piece should bring a good shot of snow to New Mexico, granted with some uncertainty still to work out. 

The next storm will also begin to impact Central & Southern BC on Sunday night with heavy snow for the Coast Range, followed by moderate snow for Washington and Northern Idaho on Monday. 

Forecast for Tue 10/25 – Wed 10/26:

Lingering snow will be possible across New Mexico on Tuesday before clearing out on Wednesday. A weakening storm will also bring some light snow to the Northern Rockies on Tuesday.

Another storm will impact the West on Tuesday night and Wednesday with the Northwest and Northern Rockies looking like the most favored areas for now. However, models are currently in poor agreement on the storm track so confidence is low as a result.

Outlook for Thu 10/27 – Mon 10/31:

Colder-than-average temperatures will persist across the West heading into the final few days of October, but the main storm track will shift northward a bit with Washington and BC looking like the most favored areas for mid to high-elevation snowfall. However, the Central Rockies could see snow at some point during this period as well. The East will be warmer-than-average during this period with no snow expected.

Thanks so much for reading! Next update on Monday (10/24).

ALAN SMITH

We just updated OpenSnow with a SUPER cool new feature called Forecast Anywhere.

You can now get the forecast for any location on Earth (that's on land). You can also save these custom points to view on your Favorites screen.

This means that you can get the forecast for the exact location of your next adventure, or your secret powder stash, or yes - even your house. Every custom point is private and nobody will see your point except you, so your secret powder stash will be safe.

Tap here for a quick visual step-by-step guide about how to use Forecast Anywhere.