Posted April 15, 6:19 am MT 5:19 am PT
Snow Stake Cams
MSLP Surface Chart thru Apr 21
All Snow
Forecast Discussion
What a year it has been and it’s still going! This has been a ton of fun. I have had some of the best powder days in my life this year. I would say in terms of top 10, at least three would be from this year, and I’ve been skiing since, 1982 and snowboarding since 1996. There could be another gem in there, yet to come.
One of my top 10 powder days, in my life, came at Arapahoe basin in May. I’ve told the story many times, over a foot of snow had fallen and it was a full-on blizzard., It was the first time I got white-out vertigo sitting on top of Zuma Cornice.
This week, I will try to project May possibilities for a storm like the preceding one. Everything has to align perfectly for a storm like that and I will go through the May storms and try to pick one or two possibilities.
Changing gears, we had good storm totals for quite a few Colorado resorts. Judging from the snow stake cams Beaver Creek and Vail had about 9, Crested Butte 7, Breckenridge 7, Aspen Highlands 6. Keystone 5, A-Basin 4 and Loveland 3.
Today, expect scattered snow showers to linger in the morning, especially for resorts along the divide. The clouds move out and it will be a beautiful day this afternoon with temps in the low 30’s.
Next system
The next system is spinning in the gulf of Alaska. That storm will hit the Pacific Northwest Sunday night, the first wave takes a northeast trajectory that will move through eastern Washington and Oregon resorts, before sliding through Idaho and Montana.
The second wave dives into the Sierra (Monday night) and moves east through Utah (Tuesday )and Colorado (Tuesday night).
Alta 21 inches to 900
3 storms before closing date, Storms 83, 86 and 89
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?
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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