Snowfall Report:
A final 18 inches of snow fell on Thursday, as heavy snow showers continued into Thursday afternoon. That brings the final 4-day storm totals to 9.5feet on the upper mountain, and 7 feet at the base! That brings the season total up to 278 inches, which amazingly is now at around 105% of the snowfall average for the date!
Friday Weather:
A beautiful day with light winds and mostly sunny skies. Still cold with highs in the 20s. An amazing powder day!
Saturday – Monday Weather:
Saturday through Monday, we will have a storm spinning near the coast but not pushing inland due to high pressure over the southwest and the trough digging SW off the coast. We could see some clouds, and the winds will increase.
Ridgetop winds increasing from the SSW up to 40-50+ mph on Saturday, and 50-60+ mph for Sunday and Monday. That could affect some upper mountain exposed lifts. Highs warming into the 40s for the lower elevations and 30s for the upper mountain.
Tuesday – Wednesday Storm:
The latest model runs show an AR forming and pushing into the northern Sierra by early Tuesday morning, with rain and high elevation snow into Tuesday night. Showers could linger into Wednesday, with some models showing clearing.
Ridgetop winds increasing up to 60-70+ mph on Tuesday and then falling into Wednesday. Highs in the 30s to near 40 degrees down at the base. Snow levels look to stay up around 8000-8500 ft. with the warm air flowing in with the AR.
We are expecting mostly rain below 8000 ft. with a mix near 8000 ft., and wet snow above the snow line, where 12-18 inches are possible by Wednesday. The OpenSnow PEAKS model is showing up to 15″ at the top of Palisades.
The rain for the lower elevations will be falling on top of the feet of fresh snow from this week’s storms. So watch for flooding and ponding. Also, watch for roof weight with all the snow on the roofs!
Long-Range Outlook:
By Thursday into the 1st week of March, the long-range models continue to show high pressure building in over CA, with the storm track shifting north. Some model runs show a couple of systems trying to push a few showers this far south, but we should stay mostly dry through the period.
I’ll continue to look for signs of a return of storms in March.
BA
