Nearly all resorts throughout North America have seen snow accumulations in the past 5-days, which is typical as we are around the midway point of the winter season. We will hit the refresh button on Friday and the weekend with more snow in the forecast throughout North America. The Northern Rockies and Midwest are the first stop this Friday for snow accumulations. 

Check out the snow depth across the US, with nearly snow in every state with a major ski resort. 

Forecast for Fri, Jan 27 – Sat, Jan 28:

Snow is falling throughout the Northern Rockies and will extend into Utah and Colorado. You won’t want to miss first tracks Saturday morning with many resorts seeing 4-8in+ Friday night. The storm will weaken on Saturday, but still produce snow accumulations throughout the Northern Rockies. A strong cold front will drop temperatures Saturday and continue to do so Sunday, which means high snow ratios! 

Another storm system is moving along the US-Canada border and will bring light snow throughout Friday in the Midwest with lake effect on Saturday. The usual areas to the east of the Great Lakes will see 3-7 inches of snow from this event. 

Forecast for Sun, Jan 29 – Mon, Jan 30:

The Western US storm system will continue to track south and bring snow to the Sierras, Wasatch, Colorado, and Arizona. A few snow showers will make it to New Mexico but stay primarily west and north. This storm system won’t bring huge amounts of snow this weekend, but keep slopes fresh. 

Another weaker storm will move through the southern Midwest and through the interior Northeast. This will bring accumulating snow to the Great Lakes, northern Mid-Atlantic, and northern New England. Warm air will be an issue for areas further south with rain. The storm exits Monday, with lake effect continuing around the Great Lakes. 

The other main story this weekend is cold temperatures in the Northern Rockies. Temperatures will plummet well below 0 degrees and stay in the low negative single digits Sunday and Monday. Cold temperatures will extend into the Upper Midwest as well.

Forecast for Tue, Jan 31  – Wed, Feb 1:

The storm system out west will keep digging to the south and lose a lot of its moisture. There is model uncertainty regarding how much moisture it will lose, which will affect how much snow falls in New Mexico. Some of this moisture will extend through the central US and toward the southern half of the Mid-Atlantic.  

As this storm exits, the next large storm will be moving into BC and the Northern Rockies. There is uncertainty about how much moisture this storm can tap into across the Pacific Ocean. Either way, accumulating snow is heading that way. The rest of the US will be quiet with some lake effect snow showers around the Great Lakes. 

Outlook for Thu, Feb 2 – Mon, Feb 6:

Storms will continue to affect Alaska and BC around Thursday and Friday, February 2nd and 3rd. At this point, another storm system could enter the Pacific Northwest or California. The models have not been consistent with the storm track into the west coast. There are several storm cycles in the loop, but it is too early to say whether they will primarily be in the PNW / Northern Rockies or extend further south. 

Temperatures throughout North America look to stay cooler than average with several chances of lake effect snow and a couple of storms around the East Coast. 

Thanks so much for reading! The next update is on Monday (Jan 30). 

Zach Butler, OpenSnow Meteorologist