US and Canada Daily Snow
By Alan Smith, Meteorologist Posted 1 year ago December 8, 2023
Snow for the Rockies Including Deep Totals in Canada
Summary
A powerful storm produced deep snow totals at Banff and Lake Louise this week with moderate totals for the BC Powder Highway. The storm is now working its way through the U.S. Rockies late this week. Heavy snow fell in the Northern Rockies on Thursday and will spread into Utah and Colorado on Friday. Next week is looking dry for most areas, except for Alaska which will see heavy snow.
Short Term Forecast
Deep Snow Totals for the Canadian Rockies:
While many areas in the Northwest saw rain and mild temperatures this week during a multi-day storm cycle, the Canadian Rockies were on the colder northern side of this pattern and received heavy snow. As of Thursday, Banff-Sunshine Village had received 55 cm (22") of snow in 3 days, and Lake Louise 50 cm (20") over the same period.
More info → Canadian Rockies Daily Snow
Check out the scene at Sunshine Village during this cycle:
Forecast for Fri (Dec 8) to Sat (Dec 9):
Snow will fall across the Rockies on Friday before tapering off on Saturday. Utah and Colorado are both in line to score modest amounts of low-density snow from this storm. On Saturday PM, a storm will move into the Pacific Northwest with snow developing across the Cascades and BC Coast Range.
Forecast for Sun (Dec 10) to Mon (Dec 11):
Snow will continue across the Northwest on Sunday but the storm will weaken as it moves across the Rockies on Monday, with light snow for Montana and Wyoming and maybe some flurries for Northern Colorado.
A storm will also move across the East but warm air ahead of the storm will result in rain for most areas from New England to the Southern Appalachians before turning to snow on the colder backside of the storm on Sunday night-Monday.
Forecast for Tue (Dec 12) to Wed (Dec 13):
The pattern will dry out across most of North America during this period. The Rockies may see a few flurries and weak disturbances could also bring flurries to Western New England and Quebec, but that's about it for major ski regions of the Lower 48 and Southern Canada.
The main storm track will shift northward into Northwest BC and Alaska where heavy snow is expected.
Extended Forecast
Outlook for Thu (Dec 14) to Mon (Dec 18):
The dry pattern is largely expected to prevail across the Lower 48 and most of Southern Canada. Models are indicating a weak storm may reach the West Coast during the weekend of December 16-17, but otherwise snowfall potential looks limited. The main storm track will continue to favor Southeast Alaska.
Thanks so much for reading! Next update on Monday (December 4).
Alan Smith
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