5-Day Snow Forecast:

While much of the West Central U.S. will see a break in the pattern, a storm will continue to spin over the Southern Rockies with heavy snow for New Mexico and parts of Southern Colorado. Over the weekend, the Pacific Northwest will be favored for snow as high pressure over the West Coast begins to break down.

Ski areas that will be favored for snowfall from Wednesday through Sunday include...

• Taos (NM)
• Angel Fire (NM)
• Ski Santa Fe (NM)
• Wolf Creek (CO)
• Eaglecrest (AK)
• Monarch (CO)
• Whistler (BC)

Forecast for Wed (Nov 6) to Thu (Nov 7):

Heavy snow will fall across New Mexico and Southern Colorado and to the east over the plains. Favored ski areas could be looking at 1-2 feet of new snow. The rest of the Contiguous Western U.S. will see a break in the pattern, while a storm will bring more snow to Alaska.

Forecast for Fri (Nov 8) to Sat (Nov 9):

There are some question marks regarding Friday's forecast over the Southern Rockies. Some models (such as the one pictured below) have the storm lingering over the eastern ranges of Colorado and New Mexico, while other models are projecting the storm to track further south and east with snow tapering off in the mountains.

The pattern will begin to shift over the Northwest with light snow reaching Southern BC and the Northwest U.S. by Saturday, while Central BC will see heavy snow. Snow levels will start out high initially on Friday before colder air arrives on Saturday with lower snow levels. 

Forecast for Sun (Nov 10) to Mon (Nov 11):

A stronger storm is likely to move into the West on Monday with the potential for heavy snow in some areas. The storm track is uncertain at this time with some models projecting the storm to track far enough south to bring heavy snow to Tahoe, while others are keeping the storm track bottled up to the north over the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies. Stay tuned...

Outlook for Tue (Nov 12) to Sat (Nov 16):

The pattern will continue to favor colder and more active weather across the West and above-normal temperatures across the East. The storm track looks most favorable for the Northwest and Northern Rockies, but the Sierra and the Central Rockies could pick up some snow, too.

Thanks so much for reading! Next update on Friday (November 8).

Alan Smith

P.S. Use OpenSnow as your daily weather app, now with a quick-view map, 10-day forecast, astronomy data, recent news articles, and historical weather for your current location.

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