Snow is falling in many resorts in Utah and California on Tuesday morning. The snow showers will continue into Wednesday morning and move south east towards Colorado. A storm is expected later this week for the PNW and the Canadian Rockies and it looks like it will travel south bringing more snowfall. Chances are the stormy weather will continue the next couple of weeks with more storms every few days.
Cold air will follow the storm that is moving in and it looks like we will see some sunshine the rest of the week till Saturday. Except for the PNW and the Canadian Rockies where a new storm will be moving in. The first storm will be cold, but the second system might be too warm. Expect new snow to start falling later this evening (that’s Tuesday evening). Another system is heading to the PNW as well on Thursday and will stick around till Saturday and Sunday. It looks like there will a lot of warm air moving in and many inches of rain are possible. So you better enjoy the snow before the rain comes in.
Powder advice
New snow and sun in the forecast for most of the mountain ranges (Cascades, Rockies, Tetons, etcetc). This means you can ride some great powder this week. Be aware that the cold air is accompanied by wind and there could be quite a bit of eroded snow causing slab avalanches. When venturing the backcountry, make sure to check your local avalanche bulletin or in case they are not aware yet stay on the safe® side.
Unstable conditions have been found already in Kicking Horse, BC. So although it’s just the start of the season, it is also the start of the avalanche season. Get the gear, get the training, get the forecast, get the picture and get out of Harm’s way.
The lifts of Loveland, A’basin, Keystone and Wolf Creek are already open and Copper will open on Wednesday. Colorado can start skiing. The lifts of Mammoth Mountain, CA are already open. Northstar, Squaw and Alpine Meadows will all open their lifts this weekend or even earlier. And from what I heard there is already some good backcountry skiing to be found in certain areas. Like the Teton Pass and south of the I-70.
Long term
A flat ridge off the coast will make sure the storm will keep bringing precipitation to the Pacific NW till Saturday. A new storm with cold air is expected to track south on Sunday. More details to come.
Stay stoked
Morris