Report from Powderchasers.com
This will be a very short post as we chase from the PNW to the Rockies. Today was a fantastic day in the PNW with up to 50 inches (Storm total) at Mt Baker, 15-20 at Stevens and a fresh 15 inches of powder today for those that made it to Crystal.
I chased this morning to Crystal and came across a gnarly accident on highway 410 in Green Water. Logging truck hit by a very large tree. I immediately thought the chase was over (No way to pass). This driver got out of his cab and started cutting himself out. Within 60 minutes he had the road open! OMG. This was the burliest logger I have ever seen cutting large size tree pieces from the top of his truck. Crystal was great today! I am chasing back to the Rockies right now.
Below: The irony of a tree hitting a logging truck in front of me blocking highway 410 on the way to Crystal.
The PNW will continue to score snow showers in the next 3 days with a very cold pattern bringing several rounds of moderate snow from Friday to Sunday. Oregon might land the highest totals.
Below: PNW additional snowfall from Friday to Saturday. Whistler on the top of this map looks deep again (Had several good rounds of snow this week). Also areas in southern Washington from White Pass (Crystal wildcard) to Oregon appear deeper.
The next 3 days will feature the deepest snow of the season, and perhaps many years for California. The models keep getting deeper! Our forecast is for 75-110 inches above 8K by Sunday. Peak snowfall will be Friday/Saturday. Snow will begin in earnest Friday night (Double digits by Friday morning) and continue into Sunday. There might be very little of a break until Sunday or Monday. Roads will be closed in many areas! Prepare for the worst and bring plenty of supplies (Gas, Food, etc.).
The Good: Temps slowly dropping throughout he entire storm (6K Thursday, 5K Friday, 2000 Saturday/Sunday). Excellent quality aside from the wind.
The Bad: Strong to extreme winds through Sunday (Still high but decreasing slightly). Monday will be the calmer day. Winds will reduce vis to 0, close roads, and likely shut down ski areas. Upper terrain will not open. Stick to lower terrain, smaller resorts, or the east side of the lake where a bit less snow will be found. Sunday might be a slight window with slightly lower wind totals.
Below: Epic snowfall for the Sierra from Thursday to Sunday. Peak will be Friday and Saturday with some additional snow into Sunday.
Below: Winds in the Sierra from Thursday to Sunday (Very strong easing a bit towards the end of this loop on Sunday (Still strong).
For Idaho and the Rockies very potent moisture will be aimed at the Panhandle along the MT border (12-15) with higher amounts possible near McCall (Western Idaho) for Thursday.
Below: Significant snowfall from Thursday to Saturday in Idaho (Thursday-Friday), Tetons (Friday to Saturday), and Utah (Saturday to Sunday). Colorado will score late Saturday to Sunday.
For Thursday night to Friday snow develops in the Tetons and increases in intensity through Saturday. Storm totals in the Tetons might exceed 30 inches. Winds will be strong and could impact a few lifts at both JHMR and Targhee. Aim to ride Friday, Saturday and Sunday (Decreasing intensity Saturday PM). Snowfall decreases in the Tetons late Saturday.
The Wasatch is too far south to benefit until Saturday afternoon to Sunday. Storm totals here will be in the 15-20 inch range. Winds will be strong, especially Saturday night before decreasing a bit (NW flow) Sunday. Northern mountains of Utah toward the Idaho border night see higher amounts, especially initially on Saturday (Storm favoring WY/ID edging into northern Utah). We need to watch for big totals at Beaver Mountain, and the Ogden area extending south to PCMR and the Cottonwoods later Saturday. You could chase from north to south Saturday.
For Colorado the models bring 12-15 inches or more to many mountains Saturday night to Sunday. Most northern and central regions (South and north of 70) should grab decent totals (Storm ski Sunday on top of what falls Saturday night).
Front range resorts are popping on the models (WP, Loveland Pas, Berthoud Pass, RMNP) extending to Steamboat and most of the western I-70 corridor (Aspen etc).
Summit County might see slightly less. The deepest totals might land from Steamboat south to the western side of I-70 (Not confident yet). Aspen, CB, and Powderhorn might be the winners (Need to update this). Even the southern Sn Juan range near Wolf Creek will benefit with SW flow on Saturday night.
This is a short post. More later. Start chasing now! The deepest snow this week might not be your best choice.
Chases? Sierra Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday (High Risk), Idaho, Wyoming for Friday. Wyoming- Saturday, Utah and Colorado for Sunday. Don’t forget to check out Selkirk Powder Cat Guides (Great terrain) who will see significant snowfall on Thursday/Friday (Check for open seats and mention PC for swag).
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Image/GIF Credits: Powderchasers/WeatherBELL
