Nice Storm for Utah and Colorado on Sunday

The Central Rockies will see a welcome shot of snow on Sunday following a couple of weeks of predominantly dry weather. A weak disturbance will bring some light snow initially on Saturday, followed by the main event on Sunday. Many areas in Utah and Colorado, as well as Northern New Mexico, are forecast to pick up 6-14 inches of snow through the weekend.

The Tahoe region will also pick up some snow, but snow levels will be high with appreciable accumulations limited to the higher terrain.

Here is our 5-Day Powder Finder, which is valid through this weekend and into early next week:

For more details on the weekend storm, check out these Daily Snows from our local forecasters:

• Utah
• Colorado
• Tahoe
• New Mexico

Forecast for Fri (Nov 17) to Sat (Nov 18):

A storm will bring rain and snow to California with snow accumulations limited to the higher terrain in the Sierra. The storm will weaken as it moves inland with only light snow and rain showers for the Four Corners region. Further north, a storm will bring heavy snow to Southeast Alaska and Northwest BC.

A storm will also impact the East with mostly rain expected, but Northern New England will see a changeover to light snow at the tail end of the storm.

Forecast for Sun (Nov 19) to Mon (Nov 20):

A storm will track from northwest to southeast across the Western U.S. on Sunday with generally light snow expected for the Sierra and Cascades. The storm will intensify across the Central/Southern Rockies with moderate to locally heavy snow expected for parts of Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico.

Colder will take hold across the East and a disturbance arriving from the northwest will bring light snow showers to New England and Upstate New York.

Forecast for Tue (Nov 21) to Wed (Nov 22):

Most of the West will dry out during this period as high pressure builds into the region. The dominant storm track will shift northward into Alaska where another round of heavy snow can be expected.

Attention then turns to the East, where a storm is expected to bring a combination of rain and snow to the Great Lakes and New England. The Mid-Atlantic will see mostly rain from this system, but they will gladly take it due to wildfires burning across the region in recent weeks.

Outlook for Thu (Nov 23) to Mon (Nov 27):

Thanksgiving weekend will feature below-average temperatures from the Rockies to the East Coast and above-average temperatures near the West Coast. A storm is expected to bring some snow to the Rockies around Thursday/Friday, but otherwise, the West is looking quiet.

The pattern does look favorable for natural snow in New England, and good snowmaking conditions are expected throughout the East. 

Thanks so much for reading! Next update on Monday (November 20).

Alan Smith