
Summary
Now that the weekend storm has wrapped up, we will dry out for a couple days ahead of the next warm system that will impact the region from Tueasday to Wednesday. Right now the snow levels look high (~ 5k) so snow totals will be limited to upper elevations only. Later in the week, a storng ridge sets up over the Pacific Northwest and may stick around for a while.
Short Term Forecast
Although reports from resorts are still limited, it looks like the weekend storm performed as expected, with 1 - 3 inches at the passes and up to 8 in at upper elevations. A ridge will quickly move in and block any storms through Monday but as it moves off to the east the next storm will move in.
We may start out with a brief period of snow before the warm front associated with this storm crosses the state Tueaday afternoon. This will be mainly a rain event, with snow levels around 5k in the north, 6k in the central, and 7k in the southern Cascades. Stevens should stay a bit cooler initally with low-level easterly flow. This isn't a huge storm, but it will bring around .25 - .5 in of rain to most of the Cascades, with < .25 in in the eastern half of the state. Showers will taper off Tuesday night. Precipiation totals from the National Blend of Models Below.
Another ridge will set up off the southern British Columbia coast on Wednesday, and likely stick around through at least the 28th. We may see a weak system move through around the middle of mext week but it doesn't look substantisl at this time.
Extended Forecast
There are some minor signals that around the end of November or the first few days of December we may see a pattern change more favorable for storms. I'm not overly optimistic about this but at least the models are not locked in on a strong ridge during this time. I'll keep watching the upper-level pattern and teleconnections for any signs of a pattern change.
Thanks for reading the Washington Daily Snow! Check out this short clip from yesterday in Utah, where 21" of snow fell in thirty-six hours. Follow me @lstone84 on Instagram to track and chase storms all winter long!
Luke Stone
Forecaster, OpenSnow