Report: Powderchasers.com
SUMMARY: As we forecasted, significant snow fell in the San Juans (2-3 feet). Reports from Powderchasers correspondents indicates Taos nabbed 15-20 inches with most of the mountain remaining closed this morning. Lifts started spinning late in the day but I assure you deep freshies today! Telluride our wildcard pick scored 14 inches on Monday night/Tuesday morning! Wolf Creek nabbed 2 feet (100% open). Beaver Creek did well also with most moisture that focused from Steamboat (9-12) to the 4 corners providing decent amounts on the western slope. Winds have shifted to the West so areas along I-70 especially Beaver Creek, and Breckenridge are scoring under this direction. Vail seems to be in the mix as well.
Short Term Forecast:
Snow showers will diminish over north/central Colorado by Tuesday night. Wednesday should deliver a good chase to resorts along I-70 that reaped rewards during the day and evening (3-7 since 3PM). There will be leftover stashes from this morning so in some spots you will be skiing deep snow (Combined evening snow with day snow) while others may only feel like 3-6 inches. Some ski reports will be high but remember 3-6 inches fell at many resorts during Tuesday. The Park City area is under a snow squall currently with 3-5 inches that has fallen in the past 3 hours at the Canyons! Sneaker powder day on Wednesday however snow will diminish rapidly this evening. “Thats on top of the 2-3 feet that fell in the past 48 hours.” Conditions in Utah are epic as I skied waist deep in the Wasatch for the past 2 days!
The Tetons are continuing to score 3-8 inches every 24 hours with conditions improving each day! 10-15 inches has fallen in the past 3 days and it’s only going to get deeper. The models show another decent burst of snow this evening (3 inches fell in past 4 hours) turning light through tomorrow (Another 4-6 inches by late Wednesday). Light snow Wednesday AM migrates to moderate in the afternoon into Thursday morning where it shifts north and may focus in the northern Tetons. Expect conditions on first chair Wednesday to be decent with more fresh snow falling in the afternoon so last chair might be worth waiting for.
Deepest snow this week will be found in the Cascades with a parade of storms that may continue into next week. Currently with 500-1,000 foot snow levels the snow is very high quality (12 inches of blower fell last night at Crystal). The next storm has a good westerly flow and cold air. This will bring heavy snowfall to the I-90 corridor including Snowqualmie Pass, Stevens, Alpental as well as spots near Mount Baker. Expect high quality powder Wednesday morning and continuing throughout the day (10-14 inches in those areas). Lower amounts will fall in the southern Cascades (4-9). First Chair Wednesday will a sure bet for all central and northern Cascade resorts!
Northern Idaho and Montana remain in the path of all leftovers on for late Tuesday into Wednesday. Cold conditions will bring a solid dump of 6-12 inches. Resorts like Schweitzer, Lookout Pass, Lost Mountain, and Whitefish should reap solid chase alerts for Wednesday and perhaps Thursday! Storm ski Wednesday and grab deep leftovers and some fresh on Thursday!
Interior BC should also reap rewards this week with heavy snowfall likely late this week!
EXTENDED FORECAST:
Another fetch of moisture with slight warming (3,000 foot snow levels) takes aim at the Washington Cascades and Whistler Thursday (Moderate snow in all mountain ranges). Heavy snow and colder temperatures move into the Pacific Northwest Friday/Saturday (Several feet likely in many mountain areas -EPIC ALERT).
Copious moisture in the PNW will split. One section moves East over most of Idaho where models show very heavy snowfall in central and northern areas! Models also show a moderate or heavy band under southerly flow for Sun Valley late Saturday or Sunday ( Most of Idaho should benefit this weekend Powder Alert)
The Tetons show an uptick of snowfall Saturday night through Sunday night (Powder Watch).
The split flow I mentioned above from the PNW spins a good swath of moisture through Oregon Friday night and into the northern Sierra by Saturday. Amounts might be decent (Powder Watch).
Finally, The Wasatch should get into action again by late Sunday and Monday where good westerly flow and cold air could bring a solid dump (Powder Watch).
Colorado looks to get into the action Monday morning with good NW flow (Good wind direction for many resorts in northern and central mountain ranges- Powder Watch).
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Confidence: High confidence for continued snowfall for the Cascades and Idaho in the next 3-5 days. Strong confidence for several moderate events for the Tetons. Medium confidence for the extended forecast beyond Sunday but overall pattern looks good for the Sierra, Wasatch, and most of Colorado late this weekend and early next week.