Posted April 11, 6:53 am MT 5:53 am PT
Snow Stake Cams
MSLP Surface Chart thru Apr 15
All Snow GFS
Forecast Discussion
Heavy snow today in the Pacific Northwest, especially in the southern Cascades today, as the cold part of the storm is engaged. Mt Hood Timberline has been the favored side of Mt Hood this year, but this storm is a little different. It is more of what we have seen the last few years, so Meadows may be the spot to be today. Either way, I expect 6-12 throughout the day today with some another 3-5 after the lifts close.
Cottonwood Canyon continues to moderate its open times. It is closed daily from 11 am to 4 pm for avalanche mitigation. Little Cottonwood Canyon is closed with no estimated opening.
Alta 23 inches to 900
4 storms before closing date, Storms 80,83, 86 and 89
Storm 80 It will be warm again today in Utah. Temperatures will rise into the low 50’s with moderate winds before the cold front hits sometime tonight. That will drop temperatures into the mid 20’s. The bulk of the precipitation will fall between midnight and noon Thursday. This is not a big storm and the models continue to show .3 to .5 inches of liquid, meaning about 4-8 inches of snow at 15:1. This correlates with the existing data from the previous 4 cycles for Alta. Cycle 1: light rain, Cycle 2: 8″, Cycle 3: 3″, and Cycle 4: 5″.
Storm 83 and 86 Storm 83 and 86 are connected and are a two-wave storm. They are a part of a huge low-pressure system that will develop in the Gulf of Alaska in the coming days. If both waves of this storm come through, we should get to within single digits for the last storm. All bets are off, this time of year due to the changing jet stream, so lets hope it hits.
Storm 89
I have this storm hitting on Monday, but it will most likely hit on Alta’s last day. I use averaging when making the long-range forecast, based on the storm’s history. This storm has been a “tweener” meaning it has hit a day early and a day late from cycle to cycle. It is a big storm so there will be at least 2-3 days of precipitation. With luck we will still have cold air in place. Could the 900 mark come down to the last day?
Colorado Forecast Tomorrow
Thanks for reading the blog, as always if you have any questions feel free to comment below, or send me an email to Mike@FutureSnow.CO
Forecasted Areas
Pacific Northwest Cascade Mountains
Crystal Mountain, Mount Hood Meadows, Timberline, 49 Degrees North, Bachelor, Mt Baker,
Lake Tahoe Sierra Mountains
Heavenly, Palisades Tahoe, Kirkwood, Dodge Ridge, Donner Ski Ranch
Utah Wasatch Mountains
Alta, Park City, Deer Valley, Brighton, Snowbird, Brian Head
Colorado Rocky Mountains
Aspen, Aspen Highlands, Snowmass, Vail, Beaver Creek, Winter Park, Keystone, Arapahoe Basin, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Powderhorn, Ski Cooper, Telluride, Crested Butte, Silverton, Wolf Creek, Eldora, Loveland
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