US and Canada Daily Snow
By Luke Stone, Forecaster Posted 11 months ago January 17, 2024
Warm Storms For the West, East Dries Out
Summary
More storms lining up across the Pacific will impact the Western US for the next 7-10 days. The first of these will bring another round of heavy snow to the Northwest and central Rockies. The storms will trend warmer during the period and the eastern half of the country will see a break in the action.
Short Term Forecast
The West Has Been Pounded with Snow The Past Ten Days
Impressive 10-day snow totals across much of the West have saved the snowpack for many areas. From Oregon through Nevada, Utah, and Colorado the snowpack is now near, at, or slightly above normal.
In Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, New Mexico, and parts of Montana the snowpack has seen a major boost from this storm cycle as well. Below are the latest 10-day totals across the western US.
Check out the latest snowpack numbers across the western US.
Forecast for Wed (Jan 17) to Thu (Jan 18):
The Pacific jet stream remains active this week with another strong storm moving into the Northwest. This will bring heavy snow to a wide area including Washington, British Columbia, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. Cold air remains in place across much, but not all of the region, with Oregon, southern Idaho, Utah, and Colorado on the warm side. There will be a sharp contrast in snow quality from north to south. Northern California will get in on this action as well.
Meanwhile, in the eastern half of the country, more lake-effect snow will continue to hammer areas to the east of the lakes. Moderate to heavy snow is also possible across the Gaspe Peninsula in eastern Quebec.
Check out these Daily Snows from our local forecasters for more details:
Forecast for Fri (Jan 19) to Sat (Jan 20):
There won't be much of a break before the next system off the Pacific moves into the western US. The next storm will take a more southwest-to-northeast trajectory that will bring warm air and atmospheric river moisture into the West. Snow will continue to fall but snow levels will be an issue, at times rising above base elevations of resorts. This storm will impact nearly all of the western US and western Canada through Saturday, but with higher snow levels than the recent round of storms, totals will be more modest.
The previous storm to hit the west will track into the eastern US and bring some snow to the Mid-Atlantic from Friday to Saturday as well, while the lake-effect snow machine will keep cranking for areas south of the lakes.
Check out these Daily Snows from our local forecasters for more details:
Forecast for Sun (Jan 21) to Mon (Jan 22):
The storm track remains similar later in the weekend into early next week, with a southwest-to-northeast trajectory and a warmer-than-average air mass. Eventually, part of this storm will separate from the prevailing flow and move into the southwestern US, bringing snow back to Arizona, southern Colorado, and New Mexico. Warm temperatures will limit snow totals but solid accumulations are possible.
Check out these Daily Snows from our local forecasters for more details:
Extended Forecast
Outlook for Tue (Jan 23) to Sat (Jan 27):
Some weaker storms are possible in the West and East during this period but for the most part, ridging and warm temperatures look to dominate the weather. Cold air will be lacking with these weaker storms as the region rebounds from the recent arctic outblast.
Thanks so much for reading! The next update is on Friday (Jan 19).
Luke Stone
Forecaster, OpenSnow
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