Powder Alert: Tahoe & Southern Sierra! Powder Watch: Wasatch & Tetons

Report From: Powderchasers.com

Light snow is currently falling over northern New Mexico where Taos could pick up an additional 3-6 inches tonight. Persistent light snow fell over the Wasatch andTetons today with some light accumulations noted above mid mountains. Loveland Ski Basin as well asArapahoe Basin opened today in Colorado bringing cheers to locals that waited for 1st chair. Kudos to Colorado for opening nearly the same date as the 2014/15 season. YTD snowfall at upper elevations is approximately 20 inches.

SYNOPSIS BY REGION:

CASCADES: Heavy rainfall will be falling this weekend under a deep atmospheric river event with up to 12-15 inches of moisture through Sunday night. Sea swells this weekend are likely to reach 12-14 feet! The South Cascades seem favored for the most rain initially. Upper elevations of Mount Hood will pick up 2-3 feet of snowfall. Rain at the ski areas will turn to snow on Sunday as a cold front drops down from Canada and rushes towards California. I expect 1-3 inches at lower elevations and 3-6 at upper ski resort terrain. Timberline Ski area may benefit with higher amounts due to their high elevation.

SIERRA: POWDER ALERT #1 OF THE 15/16 SKI SEASON

Nice to start off your Halloween weekend with snow in the forecast! Moisture will begin falling near the Oregon border late Sunday and move south at night and into Monday morning. Snow levels start out around 7500-8,000 feet and slowly lower to 5500 feet by late Monday night. Models show narrow bands of heavy snow Monday AM-PM continuing into Tuesday. Exact amounts will be hard to pin down. Our best guess this far out is a large area of 4-8 inches at lower elevations and 9-14 inches at upper ridges of the Sierra. Moisture favors an area from Mammoth north to Interstate 80. WOO HOO- Powder will be falling in the mountains and heavy rain in the low lands. The White room by late Monday?

Rockies: Low elevation rain and high mountain snows (Above 8,000 feet) will focus on Central Idaho this weekend. Some snow will filter into the Tetons especially on Sunday (Upper elevations). The California low slowly pushes north across central Nevada on Monday bringing a solid narrow path of heavy moisture into northern Utah (Idaho border) and into most of western Wyoming. TheTetons will see an increase of moisture with lowering snow levels. Amounts could be a wildcard in our books as wind directions flop from SW (GOOD), to North (Fair) and eventually NE (Poor). Snow will be falling however amounts might be moderate due to wind direction (JHMR/Grand Targhee wildcards). Southern Montana resorts may fair better with a cold front expected to stall just north of the Wyoming border. Can we say Big Sky or Bridger for Monday/Tuesday?

The southern and central Wasatch won’t see heavy snow until late Monday or perhaps Tuesday as colder air filters south. Southerly winds could favor higher elevations near Park City, Sundance, and perhaps Big Cottonwood. Winds shifts could present variable amounts at different resorts. Snow levels will fall to the Valley floor on Tuesday. Some moisture will continue into Wednesday under NW flow (Good direction for the southern Wasatch). At this point hoisting a Powder Watch for the Wasatch. Stay tuned!

Colorado grabs the leftovers at some point Wednesday and Thursday. This far out models are not very accurate however it appears that some moisture will be falling in the western mountains mid to late next week as the main low shears apart (BOO HOO).