Posted April 16, 7:09 am MT 6:09 am PT
Snow Stake Cams
MSLP Surface Chart thru Apr 21
All Snow
A Few Meteors at Alta
Forecast Discussion
Snow is falling in the Fitzsimmons Range, better known for its signature resort Whistler Blackcomb. The freezing level is 1200 meters or about 4000 feet. That system is sliding down the Pacific coast and will reach Washington resorts this morning and Oregon resorts late tonight. Heavy snow will fall today for Washington resorts with snow totals in the 4-8 range.
Tonight, the storm moves into Oregon, around 10 pm with snow totals in the 3-5 range before the lifts open tomorrow. expect another 3-5 tomorrow for the southern Cascades and a break in between waves for the northern Cascades.
Monday, the next wave will come through with snow for both regions, and also Lake Tahoe. Generally, most of the resorts will receive snow. I am expecting snow totals between 2-4 for all with 4-8 inches on the high side. That will be nice to cover up all of the dust and grime seen in the next pic.
The storm moves into Utah Tuesday followed by Colorado Wednesday. Hopefully, we will get 10-12 inches for Alta by Wednesday with the remaining 10-12 inches with the next storm on Friday/Saturday.
Washington and Oregon Resorts Open
Crystal Mountain is open for weekends through May 21st. Mt Baker is open its last day is April 23rd, Stevens Pass is closed and Snoqualmie is open weekends through April 30th.
Oregon resorts open are Mt Hood Timberline Daily, Mt Hood Meadows weekends thru April 29th, Mt Bachelor daily thru May 28th, and Hoodoo weekends thru April 30th.
View from 10,000 feet GFS with Vorticity
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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