Active Weather Returns to the West

The forecast continues to show active weather returning to the western US starting on Sunday, October 22nd. Snow levels will stay to the higher terrain for the first few rounds of storms early next week. Later in the week, some model guidance is showing more storms moving in from the north, which could lower snow levels significantly. 

There is still a lot of model uncertainty regarding the track of storm systems and the cold air available next week, but the 5-day total snow accumulation is showing a taste of what could come next week.

Forecast for Fri (Oct 20) to Sat (Oct 21):

A few snow showers remain in Alaska and northern British Columbia after a week of wet weather and high-elevation snow.

The US remains fairly quiet as the storm system in the Midwest will move into the East Coast. This storm will strengthen along the coast and bring heavy rain to New England with localized flooding.

Further south out of the picture, Hurricane Norma will impact the tip of the Baja Peninsula in Mexico on Saturday as a category 2 hurricane. Hurricane Norma remnants will move north affecting the weather pattern next week.

Forecast for Sun (Oct 22) to Mon (Oct 23):

The storm system in the East will continue track to the north and bring cold air behind it. This will cause rain to change to snow in northern New England and other areas of upstate New York on Sunday night. This could bring several inches of snow depending on how quickly cold air moves in. 

The active weather will begin in the West as a storm system moves into the Northwest on Sunday. Snow levels will stay to the higher terrain in the Northwest and the Sierra but lower toward the continental divide.

Forecast for Tue (Oct 24) to Wed (Oct 25):

The remnants from Hurricane Norma will interact with the storm system in the western US and bring widespread precipitation to eastern Arizona and New Mexico. Snow levels will be high and bring some accumulations to Colorado. This storm will move into the Midwest by Wednesday bringing widespread heavy rain.

The remnants of Hurricane Norma will affect where the storm system impacting British Columbia on Tuesday will track through the western US. There is model uncertainty regarding the area of snow throughout the western US, that could stay further north toward the northern Rockies. 

The GFS model below would be the best-case scenario, but the forecast could change in the coming days. 

Outlook for Thu (Oct 26) to Mon (Oct 30):

Another storm system could impact the Northwest on Thursday and Friday, October 26th and 27th. This storm system could lower snow levels throughout the western US, which means we could be looking at the first widespread accumulating snow event for ski resorts. 

The forecast continues to be uncertain though, depending on how the storm system on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 24th and 25th tracks across the western US.

Model guidance has been showing several possibilities over the past few days. The rounds of storms could continue to come off of the Pacific Ocean or we could dry out in the western US at the end of October. 

As the remains of Hurricane Norma move across the country next week, it will bring stormy weather to the Midwest and northern Great Lakes. The digging of this storm system in combination with the potential for other storms impacting the Northwest, could allow cold air to move into the northern tier of the US. This could bring snow accumulations to the northern Midwest and northern Great Lakes region. 

The storm track will stay to the north of the Northeast, allowing warm air and dry weather to prevail. 

Thanks so much for reading! Next update on Monday (October 23).

Zach Butler

P.S. We now have iOS widgets!

It will take 30-60 seconds to set up, and then you'll be able to see current conditions, check the forecast, and keep an eye on your favorite cams right on your home screen(s), without opening our app. Here is an explainer article.

These widgets are available to All-Access subscribers, and you can install as many widgets as you want! They are available in our latest app version for iPhone, and if you're on the latest version of macOS Sonoma, you can install these widgets right on your desktop, too.

Learn More → NEW: iOS Widgets