While late November is historically a bad time to count one’s chickens– the majority of the western USA is sitting especially high and dry for this time of year.
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Even with all the recent snow in the west, the SNOTEL map has the Western USA still well below average with the only exceptions being The Sierra, Northern Cascades (Mt Baker), and the Wasatch.
Just how bad is it?
The Tetons, Rockies, Sangre de Cristo, and central Cascades are all below normal reports the NRCS. Colorado for instance is sporting a snowpack that measures just 64% of its average for this time of year.
“Some high-elevation weather stations in the extreme southwest corner of the state are now reporting above average snowpack for this time of year.” – Colorado Climate Center
Luckily, a cold mass of air is moving into the Northern Rockies over the weekend, bringing cold temps and moderate snowfall to much of the west early next week. Let’s just hope the cold/snowy trend continues throughout December.