Powder Alert – Weather Update – Feb 4
Difficult times ahead, I apologize in advance…
A series of weather systems tapping mild, subtropical moisture (atmospheric river conditions) will slam into the West Coast from Thursday – Monday. Expect 4″ -11″ of precipitation in the Cascades in the next five days.
Again, the snow level is the problem. The SL will range from 4500-7000ft. – the entire time, with occasional short lived dry spells embedded in the pattern with the multiple storms. Do not expect continuous precipitation.
For the entire five-day period, I expect little or no snow below 4500ft. Expect limited snow above 4500-5500ft (6″-15″) and possible heavy snow (1-2ft) above 6000ft – occasionally with rain mixed in as SL briefly rises to 7000ft. I realize there isn’t much ski terrain above 6000ft – but there is some. The snow will be heavy (dense) for the upper slopes and really pile up. We need the additional coverage and that will help us out on the upper slopes. Sadly, lower slopes will take a beating.
The snowfall dumpage could vary widely, but I doubt the SL will drop lower than 4000-4500ft and will be somewhat elevated for the next five days. Expect the rivers to be running high.
By later Monday into Tuesday the weather begins to clear out, then high pressure builds in with a dry weather pattern developing for much of the second part of next week.
The Grand Poobah of Powder
