A Much-Needed Heavy Snow Event Out West:

November was a slow month across the West, but the storm cycle during the first few days of December has resulted in deep base-building snow totals from the Northwest to the Rockies. Some of the deepest storm snowfall totals over the past 4-5 days include 50" at Alta, 41" at Snowbasin, 37" at Stevens Pass, 33" at Steamboat, and 33" at Grand Targhee.

OpenSnow Utah Forecaster Evan Thayer sampled the goods at Alta over the weekend:

Forecast for Mon (Dec 4) to Tue (Dec 5):

While the Western storm cycle was the headline event over the weekend, New England is also experiencing a nice storm on Monday with moderate to heavy snow. Check out the New England Daily Snow for more details.

Lingering snow across the Rockies on Monday will give way to a drying trend on Tuesday. A storm involving subtropical moisture and warm temperatures will impact the Northwest, resulting in rain with high snow levels at most ski resorts. Accumulating snow will be confined to the highest terrain in British Columbia. 

Forecast for Wed (Dec 6) to Thu (Dec 7):

Colder air will return to the Northwest as the next round of storms arrives, resulting in lowering snow levels and the potential for decent snow accumulations in parts of the Cascades and Northern Rockies. Significant snowfall will also return to Southeast Alaska.

In the East, a storm will move into the Mid-Atlantic with snow showers developing across the Appalachians, favoring the higher terrain of West Virginia and North Carolina. 

Forecast for Fri (Dec 8) to Sat (Dec 9):

A storm will sweep across the Rockies on Friday with moderate snow totals for some areas, then the next storm will arrive in the Northwest on Saturday. Alaska will see more snow as well. 

Outlook for Sun (Dec 10) to Thu (Dec 14):

Confidence in the overall pattern is low as medium-range models are in significant disagreement. A storm is possible across the East early in this period, though initial indications are that rain will likely be the favored precipitation type with possibly some backside snow showers.

Across the West, the Northwest will most likely be favored but temperatures are a question mark (some models are trending cold, others warm), and uncertainty also exists on whether or not the Central Rockies get in on the action or if the storm track stays too far north. 

Thanks so much for reading! Next update on Wednesday (December 6).

Alan Smith

Create Custom Snow Alerts

Stay up-to-date and never miss another powder day with custom snow report and forecast alerts for your favorite ski resorts.

1. Go to any ski resort screen.
2. Tap the three-dot menu in the upper right.
3. Tap "Add Alert".
4. Set your 24-hour snow report and/or forecast threshold.

You can also go to Settings > Notifications > Report & Forecast Alerts in the OpenSnow app to edit any snow alert that you have already created.

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