A+ Powder Weekend

It has been a great weekend of skiing and riding throughout the West Coast with a storm system bringing A+ powder through the Rockies.  Cold temperatures and a lot of moisture allowed for some wicked high snow ratios. Several resorts saw 2-3 feet of snow with a few cracking the 4-foot mark since Friday, January 27th. Check out a couple of epic powder pics from OpenSnow meteorologist Luke Stone. 

Forecast for Mon, Jan 30 – Tue, Jan 31:

This storm is not done yet and will continue to bring snow to California, the southwest, and Colorado on Monday. Temperatures will still be cold, which means high snow ratios and decent snow totals of around a foot in southern California, Arizona, and Colorado.  

A weak storm will bring snow showers through the Northeast, with the lake effect machine firing on all cylinders across the Great Lakes. This will bring some of the largest snow totals in the Continental US early this week. 

A large storm will be moving into southern Alaska on Monday and swing south to British Columbia, extending through Alberta on Tuesday. This storm will bring heavy snow to coastal areas with snow accumulations approaching 1 foot.

Forecast for Wed, Feb 1 - Thu, Feb 2:

The large storm system affecting BC/Alberta will continue to strengthen through Wednesday. Snowfall will intensify and snow levels will lower. Snow totals on Wednesday and Thursday could be in excess of 2 feet.

The US will be fairly quiet during this time frame. A few areas of snow showers will affect the Northern Rockies and southwest. The resorts around the Great Lakes will continue to do well with favorable winds and cold air for lake effect snow to pile up (likely more snow than the map below).

Forecast for Fri, Feb 3 - Sat, Feb 4:

BC will be the place to be this week with another storm impacting the area and bringing heavy snow with low snow levels. At this point, a storm system will bring snow to the Pacific Northwest and extend through the northern Sierra. A few snow showers will extend into the Northern Rockies, making slopes fresh. 

The lake effect machine can’t stop and won’t stop with a blast of arctic air heading toward the Great Lakes and New England. With this shot of cold air, snow showers will extend into the Mid-Atlantic and New England. 

 

Outlook for Sun, Feb 5 – Thu, Feb 9:

The storm train will continue for Alaska and BC next week. The storm impacting the West Coast on Saturday, February 4th will continue to move south and inland next weekend and early next week. This will bring snow to the Intermountain West through all major mountain areas. The key to heavy snowfall will be where the moisture source comes from and where winds are favorable for snow to pile up. It looks like some areas could see some good powder.  

The Midwest could see more rounds of snow and lake effect with primarily calm and warming conditions for the East Coast. 

Thanks so much for reading! The next update is on (Wed, Feb 1). 

Zach Butler, OpenSnow Meteorologist