US and Canada Daily Snow
By Alan Smith, Meteorologist Posted 10 months ago January 31, 2024
Active Pattern Ahead with Snow Favoring the Southwest
Summary
The pattern will turn more active across the West heading into early February with a series of storms arriving. The Sierra Nevada Range and the Southwest/Southern Rockies will benefit the most from this pattern, while the Northern Rockies will also pick up some snow with a welcome cooling trend expected throughout the West. The pattern will be relatively quiet in the East for the rest of the week.
Short Term Forecast
Snow Returns to the West:
Conditions have been rather spring-like across the West over the past several days, but a more active pattern is at our doorstep with temperatures trending colder through the first 7-10 days of February. The dominant storm track will favor the Sierra Nevada Range and the Southwest U.S. including Southern Utah and Colorado, while the Northern Rockies will get in on the action as well with southerly flow favoring areas such as Sun Valley.
Check out the following Daily Snows from our local forecasters for more details on this upcoming pattern:
Forecast for Wed (Jan 31) to Thu (Feb 1):
A storm will make landfall in California with snow developing across the Sierra along with a trend toward decreasing temperatures and lowering snow levels. The Pacific Northwest will continue to see periods of rain, with snow levels gradually lowering enough on Thursday for some ski higher-elevation ski areas to see a change-over to snow near the summits.
Across the East, a weak storm will slide into the Southern Appalachians, but the storm has trended weaker with only light snow expected. Flurries are also possible across Nothern New England and Southeast Quebec.
Forecast for Fri (Feb 2) to Sat (Feb 3):
The storm will move inland with snow showers lingering across the Sierra, while heavy snow will develop across portions of Arizona, Southern Utah, and Western Colorado. Snow will also reach the Northern Rockies, favoring Central Idaho and to a lesser extent Western Montana and Wyoming.
Across the East, the forecast has trended drier but we may see some light snow showers develop across Northern New England.
Forecast for Sun (Feb 4) to Mon (Feb 5):
Snow will linger across parts of the Central and Northern Rockies on Sunday, while another storm will make landfall in California with snow picking back up across the Sierra on Sunday and Monday. Lighter snow from this storm will spread into the Northern Rockies from the southwest on Monday.
Across the East, a storm will move into the Southeast and there's a chance that snow could develop in the mountains of North Carolina and Virginia, but it's also possible the storm will track too far south.
Extended Forecast
Outlook for Tue (Feb 6) to Sat (Feb 10):
The storm track will continue to favor the Sierra and the Southwest during this period, while the Northwest and Northern Rockies could pick up lighter snowfall at times on the northern fringe. A relatively quiet pattern is expected across the East with temperatures trending warmer.
Thanks so much for reading! Next update on Friday (Feb 2).
Alan Smith
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