Base-building snow across the West in early November

Three storms will impact the West over the next five days with deep totals adding up across most major ski regions. While the Central and Southern Rockies will see most of their action over the next 3 days, the storm track will really focus on the Northwest and Northern Rockies this weekend where snowfall will likely be measured in feet. 

More storms are expected across the Northwest next week, and the storm track will dip far enough south so that Tahoe will likely see heavy snow as well. 

Forecast for Wed 11/2 – Thu 11/3:

Snow will linger across Tahoe and California through Wednesday morning, then the focus will shift into Utah and Colorado where moderate to heavy snow can be expected, favoring the southern portions of these states, Another favored area will be NW Montana, Southeast BC, and Southwest Alberta where moderate to heavy snow will continue to fall.

Further north, the next storm will reach the Alaska/Northern BC Coast on Wednesday and Thursday with heavy snow expected for the coastal ranges.

Forecast for Fri 11/4 – Sat 11/5:

Snow will linger across Colorado and New Mexico on Friday before the storm exits out onto the plains. The next storm will come in strong across the Northwest on Friday and Saturday with heavy snow expected along with a trend toward lowering snow levels on Saturday. 

British Columbia and the Washington Cascades will score the goods on Saturday while heavy snow will also spread into Idaho, Northwest Montana, and Northwest Wyoming with lighter snow for Northern Utah and Northern Colorado.

Forecast for Sun 11/6 – Mon 11/7:

Heavy snow will transition southward into Oregon on Sunday and will extend eastward into Northern Utah and Western Wyoming. Another storm will quickly arrive from the northwest later Sunday and into Monday with additional heavy snow for the PNW (along with low snow levels), while Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada Range will also get in on the action Monday with potentially deep totals adding up.

Outlook for Tue 11/8 – Sat 11/12:

An active storm track will continue to favor the Pacific Northwest, Tahoe, and Northern Rockies next week while temperatures will remain below average. In fact, mid-winter cold is likely for areas east of the Divide in Montana and Alberta, as well as Northern BC. The East will remain in a mild and relatively dry pattern with good hiking and mountain biking conditions.

Thanks so much for reading! Next update on Friday (11/3).

ALAN SMITH