Southwest snow tapers off, then attention turns to next week

US and Canada Daily Snow

Heads up, there may be fresher snow! Read the latest US and Canada Daily Snow

By Alan Smith, Meteorologist Posted 1 year ago February 15, 2023

Summary

A strong storm impacted the Southwest on Tuesday with snow lingering across AZ, NM, & CO into Wednesday. The Western U.S. will then see a break in the pattern late this week while storms will continue to impact Central/Northern BC & Alaska. A more active pattern will set up across the West next week with the potential for significant snow, and the Northeast might rejoin the action next week, too.

Short Term Forecast

Recent Snow Totals:

A storm early this week delivered the goods to the Pacific Northwest on Monday, before sliding into the Four Corners on Tuesday with heavy snow developing across Arizona, New Mexico, and Southern Colorado. Ski Santa Fe has been the big winner in this pattern so far.

Check out the deepest 5-day snow totals across North America as of Wednesday morning (Feb 15).

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

Snow will linger across the Southwest on Wednesday before tapering off on Wednesday night. A storm will also impact the Coast Ranges of Alaska and Northern BC with heavy snow, while Southern and Eastern BC will see lighter snow.

Two storms will impact the East with rain showers expected across the Appalachians, while the Great Lakes region will see rain initially followed by snow later Wednesday and into Thursday. Northern Minnesota should stay all-snow both days, however.

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

Two more storms will impact BC and Southeast Alaska during this period while the Western U.S. will stay dry, except for maybe the northernmost areas by late in the day on Saturday.

Another storm will impact the East with mostly rain expected from New England to the Mid-Atlantic. Snow will be the primary precipitation type across the Great Lakes and Quebec, though ice could mix in across southern portions of this region.

Forecast for Sun, Feb 19 – Mon, Feb 20:

An active pattern will return to the West with two storms impacting the Northwest and the Northern/Central Rockies. The first storm on Saturday night/early Sunday will be a shorter/weaker event, while the second storm from Sunday into Monday will be stronger.

Another storm will reach the East on Monday with rain developing across the Mid-Atlantic region, while snow showers can be expected across the Great Lakes region and into Quebec.

Extended Forecast

Outlook for Tue, Feb 21 – Sat, Feb 25:

Next week is looking good for much of North America! The West in particular looks very active with multiple storms likely during this period. The storm track will favor the Northwest and Northern Rockies initially, but by later in this period, we may see storms digging a bit further south into the Sierra, Wasatch, and Central Rockies.

We're also seeing hints of colder air reaching the Great Lakes and Northeast later in this period along with a fairly active storm track, resulting in better potential for snow across New England than we've seen recently.