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Storm Begins Tonight, at the Lake

By February 4, 2023No Comments

Daily Snow Stakes

 

Surface Chart 

All Snow Chart

10 Day Snowfall and Wind charts (click to enlarge/animate)

      

Forecast Summary

We have snow in the Pacific Northwest today as a low-pressure system, off the coast of British Columbia, whips a band of moisture towards California.  That band reaches Lake Tahoe just after the lifts close today.  There is a lot of moisture packed into this band, as it will dump between 1-2 feet, before the resorts open tomorrow, perhaps up to 30 inches at Kirkwood–I just checked, and their snow stake cam is back in action.  

It will snow throughout the day tomorrow from the Lake, up the coast to Oregon, Washington and Canadian resorts.  By mid to late morning tomorrow, the system reaches Utah, and finally Colorado Sunday night.

Forecast

Lake Tahoe

GFS 24 hr Snow Totals

GFS 24 hr Snow Totals

GFS 2 Day Base Wind

Today

Travel Map

Winter Storm Warnings go into effect tonight at 4 pm, as the system moves in from the southwest and will move through the Sierra, on a northeastern track, before turning due west around 2 am.  Temperatures start out warm but will drop to the upper teens, to around 20 degrees overnight. Winds will be strongest, late today as the front approaches.   Expect 50 mph gusts, which light up red on the wind map above, and quickly dissipate. 

Sunday

Heavy snow throughout the day as operations could be affected by the storm, always check the resort website before you go to make sure they are open.  Temperatures will stay around 20 throughout the day tomorrow. Winds will be strong, as usual for a storm like this.  Base level gust in the 50 range with ridge top winds in the 80’s, so upper mountain lifts are likely a no-go.  Monday will be a nice day to hit those spots.

Snow totals below are from yesterday.  They are still looking pretty good, although I think the Mammoth totals are a little on the low end. 

Next Storm Presidents Week

Utah, 

Today, will be a beautiful blue bird day with warm temperatures in the upper 30’s at base with light winds.  

Tomorrow, the system moves in around 11 am, It will be pretty windy as the front approaches, expect winds to be between 20-30 mph with gusts around 45 mph.  The heaviest snow will be between 2pm to midnight, but snow will continue thru Monday before the storm exits by lunchtime.  

Monday, Snow in the morning and should wrap around noon.  Light to moderate winds between 10-15 mph.

 

Colorado

Storm arrives Sunday night and is weakening as it moves east.  We have seen this many times before this season, and have been surprised by good totals, so I will continue to be optimistic that this storm will continue that trend.  Generally, the models are predicting 2-4 across the board.   

Those totals are in line with what happened last cycle, with Steamboat hauling in 4.  We will dial in the totals tomorrow in hopes of improvement.  

 

Thank you for reading the blog, as always, if you have any questions, or need personalized info for trip forecasts, please email me at Mike@FutureSnow.co

Long-Range Forecast Predictions thru March 

Forecasted Areas

Pacific Northwest Cascade Mountains

Crystal MountainMount Hood MeadowsTimberline49 Degrees North,  BachelorMt Baker,

Lake Tahoe Sierra Mountains

HeavenlyPalisades TahoeKirkwoodDodge RidgeDonner Ski Ranch

Utah Wasatch Mountains

AltaPark CityDeer ValleyBrightonSnowbirdBrian Head

Colorado Rocky Mountains

AspenAspen HighlandsSnowmassVailBeaver Creek,  Winter ParkKeystoneArapahoe BasinBreckenridgeCopper MountainPowderhornSki CooperTellurideCrested ButteSilvertonWolf CreekEldoraLoveland

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