Late season powder for the Northwest and Northern Rockies

A storm impacted Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest early this week with Whistler, Kicking Horse, Revelstoke, Banff Sunshine, and Timberline all scoring late-season powder days. The action shifted into the Northern Rockies on Wednesday and Thursday where Grand Targhee had reported 9 inches and counting as of Thursday morning. 

You can view recent snow totals, upcoming snow forecasts, season-to-date snowfall, and more on our new and improved Powder Finder. 

During the next 5 days, the pattern will continue to favor the Northwest and the Northern Rockies, especially early next week, while the Central Rockies and Northern Sierra will see some snow as well. 

Forecast for Fri, Apr 14 – Sat, Apr 15:

A storm will impact Colorado and Southern Wyoming on Friday and into early Saturday, while the next storm for the Northwest will reach the Coast Range of BC and Alaska on Saturday. Across the eastern half of the continent, showers and thunderstorms can be expected across the Great Lakes region and Mid-Atlantic.  

Forecast for Sun, Apr 16 – Mon, Apr 17:

Heavy snow can be expected across the BC Coast Range, including Whistler, during this period while moderate snow will also extend into the Cascades as well as the BC Interior and Northern Rockies. Snow levels will be decreasing over time, and will be quite low for this time of year by Monday.

A stronger storm will bring rain to much of the East during this period, while colder air on the backside of this storm will result in rain changing to snow across parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

Forecast for Tue, Apr 18 – Wed, Apr 19:

A slow-moving storm will continue to impact the Northwest during this period with moderate to heavy snow across the Cascades and Northern Rockies, while the Northern Sierra, Northern Utah, and Northern Colorado could eventually see some action as well.

A cold front will also move across the East during this period with rain showers mixing with or changing over to snow showers across the higher elevations of the Appalachians.

Outlook for Thu, Apr 20 – Mon, Apr 24:

A cool and unsettled pattern will persist across the Wes during this period with temperatures running below average in most areas, while the East will see temperatures near average for late April. Snow showers will be a possibility across most regions of the West during this period, but the storm track will favor heavier/more frequent snowfall across the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada. 

Thanks so much for reading! Next update on Monday (April 17).

ALAN SMITH