Tomer’s Take: Pattern stays active with new snow for PNW/BC/MT/ID/WY/UT/CO/NOCA through 4/21, an additional storm system on/around 4/24, then pattern might transition to a ridge of high pressure late April into early May. My forecast video 4/14: Current Setup Water vapor satellite shows the primary storm track from the Pacific into the PNW. Forecast Freezing […]
Author: christomer
Pattern through end of April
Tomer’s Take: Freezing levels fall today (4/13) through 4/15 then start rising again with warmer air. Storm track favors PNW/BC/Northern Tier through 4/24 then uncertainty. One more photo of the dirty snowpack in Colorado…it’s a good one from Nick Green while skiing in Aspen, CO. Thanks Nick! My blog post yesterday explains this phenomena. Forecast […]
Dirty snow, late April pattern, and snow forecast through 4/21
A high wind event 4/3-4/4 deposited desert dust on Colorado’s snowpack. This seems to occur now every Spring. Dirty snow accelerates the melting of the snowpack by lowering albedo. I co-authored a peer-reviewed article on Colorado’s Dirty Snowpack in 2010. Below, MODIS visible satellite shows the brown tint to the snowpack in some places. Dust […]
Pattern through 4/20
Tomer’s Take: The storm track favors the PNW/BC/Northern Tier. One storm system drags a cold front with snow through UT, WY, CO, MT 4/12-4/14. Pattern shifts back to the PNW/BC through 4/20. March 2023 Pattern Looking back, March 2023 was a giant for Utah with record precipitation (dark green). In Colorado, the trend is clear. […]
Warm surge then snow through 4/19
Tomer’s Take: Avalanche warnings are in effect for the Wasatch Front. Freezing levels rise rapidly next 48 hours. The storm track favors the PNW/BC/Northern Tier through 4/12. This storm systems breaks loose on/after 4/13 and runs through UT, WY, CO. Forecast Freezing Levels Wasatch: 4/10: 13300′ <–24/7 above freezing 4/11: 13100′ <– 24/7 above freezing […]
Freezing levels surge then new snow through 4/18
Tomer’s Take: Freezing levels will rise rapidly 4/9-4/12 with widespread 50-degree high temps at 10,000 feet for CA, UT, and CO. My forecast video 4/9: Forecast Freezing Level Wasatch: 4/9: 12000′ 4/10: 13300′ <–24/7 above freezing 4/11: 13100′ <–24/7 above freezing 4/12: 12100′ 4/13: 6600′ CO Central Mountain Zone: 4/9: 11500′ 4/10: 14000′ 4/11: 14400′ […]
Wasatch Freezing Levels rising rapidly; Avalanche risk
Tomer’s Take: All-time record snowfall in Little and Big Cottonwood Canyons of 800″+ has setup both canyons with avalanche-rich conditions. These slides are running all the way to HWY210 and the valley floor. Now, air temps will warm quickly with maximum freezing levels far exceeding even the highest peaks in the Wasatch Range. Forecast Freezing […]
Western pattern shift; Spring skiing
Tomer’s Take: The Western storm track continues shifting north favoring the PNW/BC/Northern Tier. The longer range jet stream is low velocity with high pressure ridging. Spring skiing inbound. My forecast video 4/8: Current Setup Water vapor satellite shows an area of low pressure hitting the PNW/BC/Northern Tier. This is the dominate flow. Forecast Pattern Forecast […]
Snow forecast through 4/16
Tomer’s Take: After an active snow period the Western pattern is shifting. The jet moves north through 4/16 and favors the PNW, BC, and Northern Tier. There is one cut-off low on/after 4/12 that might spread moderate to heavy snow into UT and CO 4/13-4/15. Programming Note: I’ll start switching over to Spring/Summer forecasting soon […]
One more storm through 4/5 then pattern shifts
Tomer’s Take: I’m forecasting one more significant storm systems for the West through 4/5 then the pattern shifts with more high pressure ridging and storm track shifts north. The big snow bullseye is the Wasatch late 4/2-4/5 with over three feet in my forecast. My forecast video 4/1: