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Heavy snow continues to fall over the Sierra where Kirkwood is reporting 47 inches in 7 days (10 overnight). I chased toSquaw where over 20 inches of freshies were waiting for us when KT 22 finally opened at 11AM. 16-25 inches of medium density powder (Top of KT- Dense towards the bottom) were bringing face shots to everyone that was there. “We caught 2nd chair right behind KT Cheryl” Another 10 inches fell last night at lower elevations and up to 18 inches at the upper peaks. Winds will keep upper mountain buttoned up most likely until Tuesday. Sugar Bowl may be the winner with 66 inch storm totals at the upper mountain with continued strong winds.
Oregon got nailed with 29 inches in the past 3 days and 16 overnight at Bachelor! Mount Hood Meadows has similar amounts. The Cascades grabbed nearly a foot yesterday at most resorts with high winds. Snow will continue over the Cascades for the next 2 days. Cold air and westerly winds will pump a steady stream of light to moderate snowfall into most areas through Wednesday (3-6 every 12-15 hours). HIgher amounts will be found at Stevens Pass, Snowqualmie, and Alpental with a convergence zone(Cold air orographics being pushed along the mountain ranges from Seattle East). I would expect 8-15 inches of additional snowfall in those areas through Wednesday. 5-10 inches is likely elsewhere.
Rockies:
In the Rockies as forecasted last week, Sun Valley nabbed over 15 inches of powder (Dense) where 8-9 fell last night. Jackson and Targhee are nabbing the fresh this morning with 9-14 inches overnight and wind holds on the Tram as of 9:30 AM. “Deep powder with a snow glow” is what my social media director reported at JHMR lined up at the Thunder chair as of 9:30 AM.
Snow will continue moderate in the Tetons through Noon. Snow showers with 3-5 inches every 24 hours will continue through Wednesday providing great refills.
The Wasatch got teased with 2-5 inches but we feel that moderate snow is likely to fill in by Noon with a cold front aimed at the northern 1/3 of Utah. NOAA is forecasting 18-28 inches but we feel those numbers are overdone. Expect 4-8 inches today and continued snow showers under NW flow through Wednesday (Several periods of 3-5 but may not be any single 24 hour period with double digits). Beaver Mountain near Logan is already getting deep! There are some breaks that will occur on Tuesday morning with another shot of moderate snow likely in the afternoon through Wednesday morning. Total snowfall in the northern areas of Utah could approach 12-18inches over the next 3 days in the upper Cottonwoods and 5-11 inches elsewhere. The periods for best powder may be last chair today, 1st chair Tuesday and perhaps again early Wednesday (Moderate refresh). Powder Mountain may fare better today with a northern advantage?
Colorado sits in the bullseye of Westerly flow tonight and Tuesday (Steamboat may offer a surprise double digit dump tonight). Cold air and higher elevation can create heavy snowfall even though the models are keeping things under check (Model data does not always account for cold air orographics). I would guess that areas like Beaver Creek, Steamboat may land some 5-10 inch numbers tonight. The flow transitions to Northwest through Thursday. Expect continued light to moderate snow especially over Vail Pass and areas along I-70 through Summit County. There may not be a single deep event but the sum totals could be respectable. I can’t pin point and exact chase at this point but keep eyes out on I-70 and north through Wednesday. My gut tells me that some high numbers might sneak up on us at Breckenridge, Beaver Creek, or Steamboat over the next few days. I especially like Tuesday and Wednesday.
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Powderchaser Steve
