Forecast for the Coast Range & Whistler:

New Snow Totals – The North Shore Mountains and Sasquatch Mountain have received the deepest snow totals so far, though the new snow is very wet and heavy and rain has been mixing in on the lower slopes periodically.

24-Hour Snow Totals Ending Thursday AM:

• 24 cm (10") - Mt. Seymour
• 24 cm (10") - Sasquatch Mountain
• 23 cm (9") - Cypress Mountain
• 14 cm (6") - Mt. Cain
• 13 cm (5") - Grouse Mountain
• 10 cm (4") - Whistler
• 4 cm (1.5") - Mt. Washington

Thursday – A trough of low pressure continues to spin off the coast of Southwest BC and lingering moisture along with an unstable onshore flow will result in additional snow showers.

Vancouver Island will see deeper moisture in closer proximity to the low pressure center, and southeast winds will favor the central part of the island with Mt. Washington receiving heavier snow than all other areas. A total of 15-35 cm (6-14") can be expected at Mt. Washington from Thursday AM to Friday AM while Mt. Cain will see much lighter snowfall to the north.

On the mainland, snow shower activity will be lighter and more intermittent with additional snow totals ranging from 2-10 cm (1-4") for the North Shore Resorts and Sasquatch, and a trace-5 cm (trace-2") at Whistler.

Snow levels will range from 750-1050 meters (2.5-3.5k feet) with peak levels occurring in the afternoon. Winds aloft will be lighter out of the SSE with peak gusts of 20-30 km/hour in Whistler's alpine terrain.

Overall, snow conditions will be variable given the time of year, old melt/freeze crusts, and wet/slushy snow quality near and just above the rain/snow line. Mount Washington could be a lot of fun on Friday morning, however, with deeper totals expected.

Friday – Lingering snow showers during the morning will give way to dry conditions with partial clearing possible in the afternoon. Any additional snowfall in the morning will be minimal.

Temperatures will warm up a little bit from prior days, and the sun is much stronger at this time of year (even if we only see occasional peaks of sun), so head out early in the day for the best conditions. 

Forecast for the Interior & Powder Highway:

New Snow Totals – Big White was the big winner on Wednesday night with 17 cm (7") of new snow reported on Thursday AM. Elsewhere, snow totals ranged from 3-13 cm.

24-Hour Snow Totals Ending Thursday AM:

• 17 cm (7") - Big White
• 13 cm (5") - Fernie
• 12 cm (5") - Whitewater
• 11 cm (4") - Red Mountain
• 10 cm (4") - Sun Peaks
• 9 cm (4") - Silver Star
• 5 cm (2") - Revelstoke
• 4 cm (1.5") - Kicking Horse
• 4 cm (1.5") - Apex
• 3 cm (1") - Kimberley

Thursday – A relative lull in the pattern is expected on Thursday morning, then snow shower activity will pick back up in the afternoon and continue through the afternoon hours with a moist southwest flow in place.

An unstable atmosphere will result in a convective nature to these snow showers (warm moist air near the surface rising into cooler air aloft), meaning the activity will be more random than usual and there could also be some locally heavy snowfall rates at times.

Overall, I'm expecting southern areas to be most favored on Thursday-Thursday night with additional snow totals of 5-13 cm (2-5") for Whitewater, Red, Big White, and Fernie and 1-8 cm (0.5-3") elsewhere. Isolated higher totals are also possible.

Snow levels will peak at 1050-1350 meters (3.5-4.5k feet) on Thursday afternoon before lowering to 600-900 meters (2-3k feet) on Thursday night. Snow quality will be on the denser side.

Winds will also be relatively light to moderate with peak gusts of 20-30 km/hour on ridgetops and in alpine terrain.

Friday – A disturbance will arrive from the northwest with snow shower activity continuing from Friday morning through Friday evening in most areas, and lingering across Eastern BC (KH to Fernie) through late Friday night.

Winds aloft will shift from southwest to west/northwest, and I'm expecting Apex, Big White, and Fernie to be the most favored in this pattern with an additional 7-15 cm (3-6") of snow. Elsewhere, snow totals will range from 1-10 cm (0.5-4"). Isolated higher totals are also possible given the showery nature of this activity.

Snow levels will peak around 1050-1200 meters (3.5-4k feet) on Thursday afternoon before lowering to 450-750 meters (1.5-2.5k feet) on Thursday night.

Friday looks like a fun day on the slopes in most areas as this will be the 3rd day in a row with fresh snow for many areas, and conditions will be softer overall. Keep in mind, we are late in the season so conditions will vary more with aspect and elevation compared to early/mid-season.

Total Snowfall Thursday-Friday – For additional 2-day snow totals (not including what fell on Wednesday night), I'm expecting Whitewater, Fernie, and Big White to see the deepest totals.

Here is my forecast:

Breakdown by 24-hour period:

Projection from a blend of weather models:

We will dry out from Saturday to Monday with increasing sunshine as high pressure builds over BC. Saturday AM will offer some lingering fresh snow across the Interior, then conditions will turn more spring-like on Sunday and Monday as temperatures warm up a few degrees each day.

The next storm is projected to arrive on either Tuesday (April 2) or Wednesday (April 3) as models are in poor agreement on the timing. A cold front is expected to arrive at the leading edge of the storm with snow levels starting high at the onset, but quickly dropping in the wake of the front. 

It's too early to say if there will be much powder potential from this storm, or if it will just be a quick shot of snow with light totals.

After this storm, a generally cool and unsettled pattern is expected to continue through late next week and into the weekend of April 6th-7th, which is closing weekend for roughly half of BC's ski resorts. Fresh snow is possible late next week, but confidence in the details is very low this far out.

Thanks so much for reading! Next update on Friday (March 29).

Alan Smith 

Projected Closing Days – Coast Range:

Manning Park – CLOSED

Mt. Washington – April 7

Mt. Seymour – April 14

Cypress Mountain – April 14

Grouse Mountain – April 21

Whistler – May 20

Projected Closing Days – Interior:

Apex – April 1

Kimberley – April 7

Panorama – April 7 

Red Mountain – April 7 

Whitewater – April 7 

Sun Peaks – April 7

Silver Star – April 7

Fernie – April 14

Kicking Horse – April 14

Revelstoke – April 14

Big White – April 14

Projected Closing Days – Northern BC:

Shames Mountain – March 31

Powder King – April 14

Hudson Bay Mountain – April 14

NEW: Snow Ratio Forecast

You can now get a good idea of the upcoming snow quality for the next storm via our new "Snow Ratio" forecast for any location in OpenSnow.

When we talk about snow quality, such as “light and fluffy” or “heavy and wet”, we are talking about the snow-to-liquid ratio. The higher the snow-to-liquid ratio, the lighter the snow quality, and vice-versa.

1. Go to any location screen and tap the "Snow Summary" tab.
2. Scroll down to the 5-day hourly or 10-day forecast section.
3. View the 5-day hourly or daily "Snow Ratio" forecast for the next 10 days.

10:1 will be fun but will feel a little heavy. 15:1 will offer some faceshots and feel pretty light. 20:1 will be incredibly light, almost like skiing through nothing but air.

This new feature is currently available with the latest version of the OpenSnow iOS app installed (App Store > OpenSnow > Update) or on the OpenSnow website (OpenSnow.com). It will be available in the OpenSnow Android app soon.

View → Snow Ratio Forecast