Deep week across the Rockies

Several storms have resulted in outstanding late-season skiing conditions across the Central Rockies. Double-digit snow totals have been common across Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Arizona, and New Mexico with some areas receiving 2-3+ feet.

Check out the scene from Park City from earlier this week:

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

A storm will impact the Cascades and the Rockies on Friday with Oregon scoring the deepest totals, while Washington, Southwest Montana, Western Wyoming, and Northern Utah will also do very well. Lighter totals can be expected across Colorado, Tahoe, and the Southwest as well as areas north of the border across BC and Alberta.

A storm will impact the East on Friday night and Saturday with a mix of rain, snow, sleet, and freezing rain expected across New York and New England while most of Quebec will stay all-snow. Heavy snow is also expected on the back edge of this system across Southern Wisconsin and Northwest Michigan.

Forecast for Sun, Mar 26 – Mon, Mar 27:

Lingering moisture combined with an unstable atmosphere (sun heating up the lower atmosphere while the air aloft remains very cold) will result in snow showers throughout the West on Sunday and to a lesser extent on Monday. Meanwhile, a backdoor cold front sliding down the east side of the Continental Divide will result in more widespread snowfall across Alberta and Montana with locally heavy snow expected in South Central Montana.

A storm will also linger across the Northeast on Sunday with mixed precipitation changing to snow across Northern New England, while moderate to heavy snow is expected across Quebec and Southeast Canada.

Forecast for Tue, Mar 28 – Wed, Mar 29:

A strong storm will make landfall in California during this period with yet another round of heavy snow expected for Tahoe and The Sierra Nevada Range. Confidence is lower elsewhere, but portions of the Pacific Northwest and the Central Rockies should get in on the action as well. 

The Northeast is also a major question mark during this period as some models are projecting a potent winter storm to impact the area, while other models are projecting a much drier pattern. Stay tuned...

Outlook for Thu, Mar 30 – Mon, Apr 3:

Colder-than-average temperatures will prevail across the West heading into early April with a storm track favoring the Northwest and the Northern Rockies. The Northeast will remain in an active pattern as well, but most storms will likely feature a mix of rain and snow. 

Thanks so much for reading! Next update on Monday (March 27).

ALAN SMITH