Weather
NBM Snowfall Map Through Saturday Night. Source: maps.weatherbell.com
Forecast Summary
The Northern Rockies will receive a much needed boost to their snowpack over the next couple of days. A deep trough will drop down across much of the western US Sunday/Monday, bringing colder air, at least temporarily, and widespread snowfall.
A cold front will first cross Northern Idaho/Northwest Montana Sunday night, reaching Northwest Wyoming Monday evening. Ahead of this cold front, very strong west-southwest flow will bring a great deal of moisture from the Pacific. However, temperatures aren’t particularly cold ahead of the front, so prefrontal snow is expected to be more dense than postfrontal snow. Postfrontal moisture is much more limited, so the vast majority of snowfall will be prefrontal, and thus heavier, wetter snow with lower snow:liquid ratios.
Snow should start close to 24 hours in advance of the cold front, and continue for several hours after it passes, giving each mountain range a good 30+ hours of decent snowfall. Resorts up and down the Northern Rockies will see close to double-digit snow totals from this storm, with the best performing mountains receiving multiple feet.
Here is a breakdown of forecast snow totals for some of the major resorts in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming:
- Tamarack (ID): 8-12″
- Bogus Basin (ID): 5-10″
- Sun Valley (ID): 4-10″
- Big Sky (MT): 5-10″
- Bridger Bowl (MT): 6-12″
- Whitefish (MT): 4-10″
- Jackson Hole (WY): 12-20″
- Grand Targhee (WY): 12-24″
Long-term Forecast
Long-term ensembles showing a very deep trough moving in at the end of this week . Source: maps.weatherbell.com
Another great setup is expected next weekend, with another trough expected to dive down across the western US. Models are in good agreement that next weekend’s trough is even deeper than our current incoming trough, and will bring much colder air.
While it’s much too early to speculate about snow totals, it certainly looks like an ideal setup for the Sierra Nevada’s, and a very good setup for the entirety of the Rockies.
