[Forecast Courtesy Of Powderchasers]
Snow is just beginning to fall in Southwestern Colorado this evening. Moderate to heavy snow will continue to fall at times through Tuesday night with 4-8″, and lesser amounts north and northeast of the San Juans. The rest of the West is on a Powder Watch as an Alberta Clipper swings through early in the week and a strong upper level low pressure system digs in later this week. The next 7-14 days could go a long way towards getting resorts open!
(Image courtesy of Weatherbell/NWS)
Colorado:
As shown in the NWS forecast image above, the San Juan’s are in line for solid thump of snow over the next 24 hours. A weak upper level low will bring snow across the state, while Telluride and Purgatory will have the best chances for 4-8″ of snow, with isolated higher amounts above 10k. The south central mountains should see 3-6″ while the rest of the mountains could pick up lighter amounts, 2-4″.
Canada/Montana:
The second snow event of the week focuses on Interior BC, Alberta, and Montana. An Alberta Clipper (*below) will swing through with a cold front bringing heavy snow, especially along the northern side of the front.
(Image courtesy of Meteostar)
Snow will start in interior BC and Alberta Tuesday evening, and reach NW Montana early Wednesday morning. As the cold front moves South, snow levels will fall to valley floors. There will be some lulls in the intensity of the precipitation in question, but by midday Thursday expect 4-8″ with isolated higher amounts on the North and East facing slopes. Teton Pass and Great Divide should benefit from being on the cold side of the front initially, whereas areas like Whitefish and Blacktail will struggle with warmer temps early and therefore receive less snow.
Whitewater, Fernie, Revelstoke, Kicking Horse, Marmot, Lake Louise, and Sunshine Village will all fare well from this Alberta Clipper and receive 4-8″ with isolated higher amounts. Conditions are shaping up to be excellent for Opening Day at Lake Louise and Sunshine Village on November 10th! Finally, if the cold front advances farther south and stalls in the right spot, Red Rock could receive heavy snow as well.
The Rest Of The USA:
During the latter half of the week, a strong upper level low pressure system moves down the coast from Alaska and rotates over the Pacific Northwest. This trough slowly becomes elongated before crossing the Western US over the weekend. This storm will affect Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, California, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. Right now, California and Idaho look the deepest, with 1-2+ FEET possible, while many resorts in the remaining western states could see 8-16″ of snow. This storm has the potential to lower snow levels to 1-2k feet in Washington, 3k in Oregon, 5k in the Sierras of California, and 3-4k in Idaho, with precipitation lasting through Tuesday before winding down. Its still early, so we will fine tune the forecast for this system later in the week.
On the heels of this long duration snow event for the West, yet another upper level low pressure (below) could stall in the Pacific Northwest bringing even more snow during the middle of next week. 
Extended Pow:
The extended forecast looks promising as well, with continued chances of cold and snow, the best chances being in the Pacific Northwest.
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