5-Day Snow Forecast:

Many of the same areas that have already received heavy snow this week will get hit again over the weekend. The next round will come in with lower snow levels, down to base areas at most resorts, with the deepest totals expected, once again, in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. 

Forecast for Fri (Nov 15) to Sat (Nov 16):

A weaker storm will move across the Sierra, Wasatch, and Northern U.S. Rockies with light to moderate snow expected. A strong storm will impact Alaska on Friday before dropping south into British Columbia and Washington on Saturday.

Forecast for Sun (Nov 17) to Mon (Nov 18):

Heavy snow will fall across the Northwest U.S. and Southern British Columbia on Sunday with lighter snow reaching the Northern U.S. Rockies on Monday as the storm weakens on its journey eastward. An area of low pressure spinning up over the Southwest will also bring snow to portions of New Mexico. 

Forecast for Tue (Nov 19) to Wed (Nov 20):

Snow will likely continue across New Mexico but confidence is low on whether or not snowfall reaches Colorado. This particular model is a snowier solution for Colorado, whereas other models are coming in drier.

A ridge of high pressure will build over the far Western U.S. with most areas drying out. However, a storm will track along the northern periphery of this ridge and will bring rain to the Washington Cascades (possibly starting as snow before changing to rain), while Western BC could see heavy snow.

Colder air and storm energy will also work its way into the Central U.S. with snow developing over portions of the plains. Some models have snow reaching the ski regions of the Great Lakes on Wednesday but confidence is low.

Outlook for Thu (Nov 21) to Mon (Nov 25):

Models are in poor agreement on the longer-range pattern for the Western U.S. High pressure is expected to hold over the Intermountain West of the U.S., but on the northern periphery of the high-pressure ridge, storms are likely to impact Western Canada.

Some models are projecting storms to reach the West Coast of the U.S. during this time, but they would likely be warmer and weaker storms with high snow levels, at least initially.

The Eastern U.S. will see a more interesting weather pattern with colder temperatures and a possible storm early in this period, which could bring some snow to mountainous portions of the Mid-Atlantic and New England. However, confidence in the storm track (and thus the details) is low at this time. 

Thanks so much for reading! Next update on Monday (November 18).

Alan Smith 

Visualize Maps in 3D

Explore ski trails, terrain features, satellite imagery, and high-resolution weather data (radar, snow depth, wildfire smoke, land ownership, and more) with our new 3D maps.

The image above is an example of our estimated Snow Depth overlay with the satellite base map in 3D over Whistler Blackcomb on November 11, 2024.

Go to the "Maps" tab in OpenSnow and tap the "3D" button to get started.

View → 3D Maps