The Southwest will see a welcome boost to its early-season snowpack this week as multiple cut-off lows track across the region. The Southern Sierra, San Juans, and portions of Arizona and Southern Utah will see some of the most impressive snow totals in this pattern.

Ski areas with some of the deepest 5-day forecasts include...

• 10-20" - Lee Canyon (NV)
• 10-20" - Arizona Snowbowl (AZ)
• 10-20" - Wolf Creek (CO)
• 8-16" - Brian Head (UT)
• 8-16" - Mammoth (CA)
• 8-16" - Silverton (CO)
• 7-14" - Kirkwood (CA)
• 7-14" - Taos (NM)
• 7-14" - Telluride (CO)

Forecast for Monday (Nov 17):

A stronger and colder storm will impact California with snow, favoring the Sierra Nevada Range and the SoCal Mountains. A storm will also reach the Central Rockies with light to moderate snow developing across Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming. 

A weaker storm will also move into the Northwest, but snow levels will be high, even across the Interior of British Columbia.

In the Northeast, another good round of snow is expected across Upstate New York and New England. 

Forecast for Tuesday (Nov 18):

A storm will move from California into the Southwest, favoring Arizona, Southern Utah, and the San Juans in Southwest Colorado for the highest snow totals.

A weaker storm will continue to impact the Northwest with snow levels coming down a little bit as a weak cold front moves through.

In the Northeast, snow showers will linger across Northern New England as a cold airmass remains in place.

Forecast for Wednesday (Nov 19):

A slow-moving storm will continue to impact the Southwest with snow favoring Arizona, Southern Utah, and Southern Colorado. Further north into the Central Rockies, only light snow is expected.

Forecast for Thursday (Nov 20):

Snow will continue over the Southern Rockies, favoring New Mexico and Colorado, including some snow for the Front Range Mountains. Another faster-moving storm will also be arriving on its heels with more snow developing across California, Arizona, and Utah. 

A storm will also make landfall in the Pacific Northwest on Thursday night with rain and snow developing. 

Forecast for Friday (Nov 21):

One final storm will move from California into the Southwest and Southern Rockies. This storm looks a bit weaker and faster-moving than prior storms, so lighter snow totals are expected for now.

Meanwhile, a stronger storm will reach the Pacific Northwest with heavy snow possible for Western Canada, along with colder air and lower snow levels. South of the border, warmer air and higher snow levels are expected in Washington and Oregon.  

In the East, a warm-up will occur, and a storm will likely bring rain to most of New England. Some snow is possible for higher terrain in Northern New England, but rain could still be a factor here. Better snowfall potential is expected north of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec. 

Outlook for Sat (Nov 22) to Wed (Nov 26):

A more favorable pattern is expected across the Northwest, Northern Rockies, and Canada with an active storm track along with much colder air. This will result in lower snow levels and a higher likelihood of top-to-bottom snow at ski resorts.

Snow could also slide into Utah and Colorado from the northwest in this pattern, and temperatures will trend colder here as well.

In the East, widespread above-average temperatures are expected, with both rain and snow possible across Northern New England with any storms.

Thanks so much for reading! Next update on Wednesday (November 19).

Alan Smith 

NEW: 11-15 Day Forecasts

You can now view detailed 11-15 day forecasts for any location on Earth across any platform in OpenSnow.

To extend our forecasts out to 11-15 days, we process data from additional models, including the European AI (AIFS Ensemble), American AI (GFS Graphcast), and American Ensemble (GEFS).

This ensures that we present a multi-model approach and that you are not misled by the extended forecast from a single model.

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2. Scroll down under "Weather" or "Snow Summary".
3. View extended forecasts out to 15 days.

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