Sunday – Thursday Weather:
High pressure is still over the region Sunday through Thursday. That will continue the sunny and mild weather each day through Thursday, with highs into the 50s for the lower elevations and 40s for the higher elevations.
Pattern Change:
The latest forecast model runs continue to show a trough digging into the West on Friday, and troughing staying over the West through most of the last week of March, at least the 28th-29th. The ridge up over Alaska will help to drive colder air from the north down into the West, with below-average temperatures expected for the last week of March.
It will also leave the door open to storms moving through CA starting Friday through the 28th-30th of March. The long-range models show above-average precipitation over the 7-9 day period.
Friday – Saturday Storm:
The first storm, moving in sometime on Friday, looks like a weak-moderate storm precipitation-wise and likely a weak storm snow-wise as temperatures are mild to start with the first storm. Snow levels could be up around 8000 ft. on Friday and may only fall to around 7000 ft. on Saturday. We will likely have gusty winds as well.
We’ll be watching the trends with this storm all week, and I’ll have a detailed snowfall forecast starting Monday morning as the first storm comes into the 5-day forecast window.
Long-Range Forecast:
The latest model runs show showers possible next Sunday the 24th, another storm possible on Monday the 25th, and another storm or two through the 28th – 30th. We’ll continue to watch the trends on those as well through the colder and active pattern.
Going into April:
The long-range models continue to show the trough shifting east and high-pressure building in closer to the West Coast around the end of the month into the beginning of April. That could bump the storm track to our north around the 29th – 31st into the start of April. If the ridge is sitting off the coast temperatures likely won’t warm quickly but will start to warm.
We’ll continue to watch the trends for the beginning of April and beyond, to see if we could see if any late-season storms could bring snow to the mountain.
BA