Snow thru Wednesday for Utah, Colorado Tomorrow thru Thursday

Posted April 1, 7:24 am MT 6:24 am PT

Snow Stake Cams

MSLP Surface Chart

Forecast

Utah

Today

Scattered snow shower today with light accumulation expected. Some lake effect snow is likely for Snowbasin that could enhance the snowfall. I listed 2-4 inches but it could very well be 4-8. Temperatures will be around the freezing point at 6500 feet with winds between 15-20 with 30 mph gusts at base level and 40 mph at upper elevations. The heavy snow hits tonight around 8 o’clock.

Tomorrow

Powder Day number 108 (seemingly), with heavy snow throughout the day with the highest snow totals for the storm. Watch for road and resort closures and also the dreaded Interlodge. Temperatures will be in the low 20’s with winds in the 10-15 mph range, so pretty nice. Upper mountain winds in the 20-30 range.

Tuesday

Heavy snow continues with another foot for some resorts. Winds will likely be stronger, in the 20-30 range with 40 mph gusts. I don’t have a lot of confidence this far out. Temps, however, I am confident in. It will be cold, in the single digits or negative numbers, wind chill wise. High temps will be in the upper teens.

Wednesday

The storm moves out early in the morning, as of now, before the lifts open. Temps around 20.

Colorado

Today

Windy and warm with high temperatures in the low 40’s with winds between 20-25 mph with gusts in the mid to upper 30’s, with stronger winds along the passes. Overnight temperatures will be in the upper teens.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow will start out dry with the storm moving in after lunch. Temperatures will be cold with highs in the mid 20’s. Strong winds continue as the storm rolls in around noon for the central and northern mountains, 1 o’clock for resorts along the divide and as late as 8 pm for the southern ranges.

Wednesday

Snow, heavy at times, through the morning and early afternoon. Strong winds are likely, so keep an eye on the leeward (opposite) side of the mountains, as free refills are likely. Temperatures in the mid 20’s. The storm will exit after lunch, or early evening.

Thursday

Scattered snow showers likely throughout the day.

Lake Tahoe

Today

Sunshine and wind today with base level winds in the 25-35 mph range with 50 mph gusts. Upper mountain wind gusts in the 70-80 mph range. The storm system moves in from the northwest and arrives late in the day or overnight. Expect heavy snow by 5 am with totals rapidly increasing before the lifts open. The timing is tricky so I’ll be conservative and say that areas west of the lake, along the crest will have 6-10 before the lifts open.

Monday

Snow continues throughout the morning and early afternoon with an additional 4-8 possible. Temperatures will be in the upper teens to start the day and top out around the mid-20’s. Winds will be moderate, between 15-20 with 30 mph gusts at base level and between40-45 at ridgetop.

500mb Flow (click to animate)

Heavy snow today thru Monday, in the Cascades, with the heaviest snow falling on Sunday. This storm will head southeast and reach Utah by Sunday with the heaviest snowfall hitting on Sunday night.

Let’s back up a bit. There will be a small wave passing through the Wasatch tonight, that will likely add another 3-5 for Brighton, Alta, and Snowbird with 2-4 for Solitude and perhaps an inch or two for Park City and Deer Valley.

Between Sunday night and Monday we are expecting 2-3 feet for Utah resorts. Below are the expected totals for the next 5 days.

Snow hits Lake Tahoe by Sunday night with moderate totals falling as this storms energy will pass mostly to the north. Regardless a refresh of 5-10 inches is likely for resorts along the crest. This is another cold storm so the snow quality will be great and if the storm moves just another 50 miles farther south, we could have much more snow.

Colorago gets underway late Monday with the main energy arriving Monday night. It is a little too early to project totals. Looking at the 5-day snowfall map, again, if the storm digs a little deeper into Colorado, we could have much higher totals. I will be back home tomorrow, if I can get out, and we should have more data on the projected path.

Monday, I will dive into the projected storms for April and dive into the teleconnections. We are trending in the right direction, teleconnection wise, for more snow, but the GFS has a retreating jet stream for the next projected storm, so we will wait for a little better resolution in the coming days. Could this be a sign of the end, or just the models not picking up on the pattern yet? We’ll see.