The current snowpack map shows that western Canada continues to lead the pack with a couple feet of snow on the ground. During the last few days, there has been no snow accumulation over most of the US.

Despite the lack of natural snow, slightly cooler temperatures will allow Loveland to become the second resort to open when they start spinning their lifts on Thursday, November 10th.

In the Pacific Northwest, the snowpack at Whistler is still well above average following an exceptionally snowy October, but the recent spell of warmer and drier weather is taking its toll.

During the next 5 days, the heaviest snow will fall over British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. Light snow will also accumulate in the northwestern US states, as well as in the northeast.

The bigger change will come during the 5-10 day period, when a cold storm *might* push through the western US, bringing snow to many states and dropping temperatures by 20+ degrees.

The map above shows the snow forecast 5-10 days from now, and as such you should treat it with caution. The map WILL change because meteorologists cannot accurately predict snow amounts 5-10 days into the future. That said, next week’s storm should signal the beginning of a shift in our weather pattern, a shift that should bring us more snow and cold air than we’ve seen in the US during the last few weeks.

Thanks for reading!

JOEL GRATZ