A strong atmospheric river out of the southwest, combined with a northerly jet stream will bring huge snowfall totals to much of the northern mountains of the western USA.
POWDER WATCH: 2 -3 FEET of Snow Likely For The Northern Rockies!
Look for Oregon, Washington, northern California (north Lake Tahoe), Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado to pull down between 1-3 feet by this time on Monday.
“Our wise Accountant master Peter carefully said ‘You can’t ski a forecast, but you can get excited.’ Ever heard of the Pineapple Express? Well it’s on its way.” – Alta Ski Area
Originally forecasted to be a warm’ish, winter storm, the latest forecasts have most of the intermountain snow coming in relatively cold (between 20-30° highs).
LET IT SNOW!
Mount Bachelor
Teton Pass
Alta Ski Area
NOAA Discussion
A plume of moisture associated with the system will begin to move onshore over California on late Wednesday morning, expanding into parts of the Pacific Northwest on overnight Wednesday into Thursday. Rain and higher elevation snow will develop over Central/Northern California by Wednesday evening. The snow will expand eastward into parts of the Great Basin/Northern Intermountain Region by Thursday evening. Rain and higher elevation snow will move into parts of the Pacific Northwest early Thursday morning expanding northward into Washington State on Thursday afternoon into evening. Additionally, rain and freezing rain will develop over interior parts of Northern California/Pacific Northwest on Thursday morning into evening.