A Memorable Holiday Season for the West

An active pattern set up out West just before Christmas and has continued into the first week of January with frequent storms delivering the goods. California, Utah, and Colorado have been favored for the deepest totals since Christmas, but areas from Arizona to British Columbia have also seen plenty of action. 

Check out the deepest 10-day snow totals as of January 3rd. Note: Some data may be missing. 

Moving forward, a powerful jet stream will remain stretched from east to west across the entire Pacific Ocean. This pattern will allow for strong storms to continue slamming into California on a frequent basis. Check out the Tahoe Daily Snow and Mammoth Daily Snow for the latest.

A ridge of high pressure setting up over the High Plains will cause storms to lose some of their punch by the time they reach the Rockies (compared to recent weeks), but frequent shots of light to moderate snow can still be expected.

Forecast for Wed, Jan 4 – Thu, Jan 5:

A strong storm will make landfall in California on Wednesday with heavy snow developing across the Sierra and continuing through Thursday. Lesser amounts of moisture will reach the Pacific Northwest and the Rockies where lighter snow is expected. 

A storm will also impact the Upper Midwest and Northeast with a mix of snow, ice, and rain eventually changing to light snow showers across the Great Lakes and New England on the backside of the storm Thursday. The Mid-Atlantic will see all-rain.

Forecast for Fri, Jan 6 – Sat, Jan 7:

California will see a break on Friday as the main focus of snow shifts into the Central Rockies as the weakening storm works its way inland. A storm will also bring snow to the Coast Range of British Columbia on Friday, followed by another storm that will reach the Coast Range, Cascades, and Sierra on Saturday.

Cooler air will arrive in the East during this period with snow showers for the Northeast and New England on Friday, followed by a potential round of snow across the Mid-Atlantic on Saturday.

Forecast for Sun, Jan 8 – Mon, Jan 9:

Two more storms will impact California during this period with deep totals possible across the Sierra. The Pacific Northwest could also see some decent moisture and snow totals during this period, while the Rockies are expected to see lighter snow totals.

The East could also see one or two storms during this period with the Mid-Atlantic expected to be the most favored region. However, confidence is low at this time.

Outlook for Tue, Jan 10 – Sat, Jan 14:

The pattern is not expected to change much during this period with a continued active storm track across the Sierra, while portions of the Pacific Northwest will also get in on the action on the northern fringe of the storm track. The Rockies should pick up some leftovers, but storms will have a tendency to weaken moving inland.

California will see near to below-average temperatures along with Alaska and perhaps the Southeast U.S., but most of North America will remain warmer than average during this period.

The East could potentially see some winter weather during this period as well, but confidence is low.

Thanks so much for reading! Next update on Friday (Jan 6).

ALAN SMITH