Strong storm to impact the West from Monday to Wednesday:

A storm will impact the Pacific Northwest with heavy snow and cold temperatures (resulting in low snow levels) on Monday. As the storm moves inland, it will split in half with the southern part of the storm favoring Arizona, New Mexico, and Southern Colorado while the northern half will favor Southwest and South Central Montana with lighter amounts in between.

Check out the following ski resort snow forecasts where we are expecting some of the deepest snow totals from this cycle:

• Alpental
• Mt. Hood Meadows
• Wolf Creek
• Taos
• Ski Santa Fe
• Arizona Snowbowl
• Big Sky
• Red Lodge

Forecast for Mon, Feb 13 – Tue, Feb 14:

Heavy snow will fall across the Cascades and BC Coast Range on Monday while Eastern BC and Northern Idaho will pick up some decent totals as well. Montana will join the fun on Monday night and Tuesday with southern areas being the most favored.

The Southwest will see a teaser storm on Monday followed by a stronger storm on Tuesday with heavy snow expected across Arizona, Northern New Mexico, and Southern Colorado.  

Across the East, a weak disturbance will move across New England from late Monday through early Tuesday with light snow expected.

Forecast for Wed, Feb 15 – Thu, Feb 16:

A storm will linger across the Southwest into Wednesday with deep totals adding up. Snow will taper off across Arizona early but will continue through the day on Wednesday across New Mexico and Colorado. Meanwhile, a storm will impact Alaska and Northwest BC during this period while Southern BC will largely miss out.

Back-to-back storms will bring rain showers to the East on Wednesday and Thursday, while the Great Lakes will see a mixed bag with rain expected for many areas on Wednesday before changing to snow on Thursday. Northern Minnesota and Ontario should stay all-snow both days with higher totals adding up as a result.

Forecast for Fri, Feb 17 – Sat, Feb 18:

The Western U.S. will stay dry during this period while weaker storms impact Canada and Alaska. Heavy snow totals are still expected to add up across the Northern Coast Range of BC into Southeast Alaska with lighter totals for Southern BC.

The East will be a mess during this period with a storm bringing rain to all areas initially, while colder air on the backside could result in a changeover to snow and/or ice for some areas of the Northeast on Friday. Heavier snow is possible further north in Quebec. Some parts of the Great Lakes region could receive decent snowfall in the cold sector of this storm but confidence is low. 

Outlook for Sun, Feb 19 – Thu, Feb 23:

The pattern will turn more active across the West during this period with multiple storms possible in a northwest-to-southeast trajectory that would favor the Pacific Northwest and the Northern & Central Rockies. Temperatures will also be below-average throughout the West. 

Across the East, an unseasonably mild pattern will continue with storms likely resulting in a mix of snow, rain, or ice, or in some cases just plain rain. The Northern Great Lakes region could end up with a decent pattern, however, with better snow potential.

Thanks so much for reading! Next update on Wednesday (Feb 15).

ALAN SMITH