Snowy week ahead for the West

The winter that keeps on giving out West will continue into late March with multiple storms expected over the next 5 days. The storm track early this week will favor California, the Southwest, Utah, and Colorado while the storm track late this week will favor the Northwest and Northern Rockies. 

Forecast for Mon, Mar 20 – Tue, Mar 21:

Back-to-back storms will impact the West during this period with heavy snow expected for the Southern Sierra and the Southern Rockies, while the Cascades and Northern Rockies will receive lighter snow. The Midwest and East will be fairly quiet aside from some stray flurries, though snow will start to pick up across the Midwest by late Tuesday afternoon as a storm approaches. 

Forecast for Wed, Mar 22 – Thu, Mar 23:

A storm will continue to impact the Southwest and the Southern/Central Rockies on Wednesday with snow tapering off across these regions on Thursday. Another storm will then make landfall in the Pacific Northwest on Thursday with snow beginning across the Cascades during the afternoon. Further north, heavy snow is expected across the coastal ranges of Alaska.

The Upper Midwest including Northern Minnesota and the UP of Michigan will see snow on Wednesday, while warmer air across the East will result in rain from Lower Michigan to the Northern Mid-Atlantic and New England. 

Forecast for Fri, Mar 24 – Sat, Mar 25:

A strong storm will impact the Northwest with heavy snow on Friday giving way to lighter snow on Saturday. Lighter snow can be expected further south across the Sierra and the Central Rockies. A storm will also impact the East with uncertainty regarding the storm track, though the general idea is that many areas across the Northeast will see a transition from rain to snow at some point. 

Outlook for Sun, Mar 26 – Thu, Mar 30:

The pattern during this period will favor storms roughly tracking from north/northwest to south/southeast along the West Coast, favoring the Cascades and the Sierra, with limited moisture making its way inland across the Rockies. Temperatures will remain much colder than average for late March throughout the West, however. An unsettled pattern will also continue across the Northeast with additional shots of snow possible.  

Thanks so much for reading! Next update on Wednesday (March 22).

ALAN SMITH