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Split Storm Track to the Northwest and Southwest

The West will see more active weather in this forecast, which will bring snow across the region. There will be a split storm track that will keep storms to the north with heavy snow in British Columbia and Alberta. Lighter snowfall will extend into the Pacific Northwest of the US, with high snow levels limiting snow accumulations.

Snow levels will play a major role in snow accumulations across the Northwest. Make sure to use OpenSnow's interactive snow level forecast charts showing each model's snow level forecast and the OpenSnow blend forecast in the solid blue line. Here is the chart at Whistler, British Columbia, over the coming days.

The other part of the split storm track will be in the Southwest. A cutoff low will continue to spin across the Southwest, bringing snow through the Sierra into Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. Other areas of the West will be between these two storms, with light and scattered snow showers.

The East will see colder air move through northern areas and several days of scattered light snow showers.

Forecast for Friday (Nov 21):

The cutoff low in the Southwest will continue to spin and weaken as it does so, bringing a few more snow showers with light snow accumulations.

Looking to the north, a more significant storm will impact the Northwest with heavy snow through British Columbia and Alberta. Snow accumulations will be elevation-dependent, with snow levels rising above bases around mid-mountain elevations. In the US, temperatures will be too warm for significant snow, with mostly rain in Washington due to high snow levels.

In the East, a storm will lift north and bring light snow into Ontario and Quebec with a few snowflakes in northern New England.

Forecast for Saturday (Nov 22):

The storm in the Northwest will continue to bring snow to British Columbia and Alberta with colder air that will lower snow levels into Sunday. Light to moderate snow accumulations will continue and will also spread into northern Washington, Idaho, and Montana for the higher elevations. 

The Northeast will see a few lingering snow showers with minimal impacts. Temperatures will lower behind the storm system, allowing snowmaking across most of New England and parts of the Mid-Atlantic.

Forecast for Sunday (Nov 23):

More rounds of moisture will move into the Northwest with more snow accumulations in British Columbia and Alberta. The storm system will start to swing south, with colder air lowering snow levels and higher chances of snow in the PNW. Light snow accumulations are likely across resorts.

A new storm disturbance will strengthen in the Southwest, which will develop a few areas of snow in Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. Snow totals will be light with isolated higher totals.

A few snow showers will continue across the East with colder air. Most snow showers will stay in the higher terrain of New England and into Canada. Minimal to light snow accumulations are likely.

Forecast for Monday (Nov 24):

The storm in the Northwest will swing further south to start next week, with widespread snow expected to move into the PNW, Alberta, and the northern Rockies. Snow will be heaviest in Alberta and Montana, with light snow accumulations elsewhere.

The storm in the Southwest will weaken, with a few snow showers continuing in Colorado. The Northeast will continue to see northwest flow, bringing cold air and snow showers through the higher terrain. 

Forecast for Tuesday (Nov 25):

Light and scattered snow showers will continue across the Rockies with minimal impacts expected. Some areas could squeeze out several inches of snow, but this will be localized. Another storm might impact the Northwest on Tuesday, but model uncertainty makes the forecast difficult to pinpoint this far out.

The Northeast will continue to see favorable northwest flow on Tuesday with another day of scattered and light snow accumulations. Despite light snow totals each day in New England, several-day snow totals could stack up over 6 inches!

Outlook for Wed (Nov 26) to Mon (Dec 1):

The Pacific storm track will continue to bring storms into the Northwest, causing several chances of snow around Thanksgiving and into early December. Several of these storms will swing into the interior West through the Rockies, bringing higher chances of snow than we have seen over the past few weeks. The biggest area of uncertainty is temperatures, which are forecasted to stay above normal, keeping snow levels on the higher side.

A couple of storms, similar to the past week of cutoff lows, could affect the Sierra and Southwest as well. However, there is model uncertainty about how far south these storms could dip, as well as how much moisture will be available.

A cold air mass is expected to move from central Canada into the Upper Midwest and the Northeast. This cold air mass will bring several storm systems with chances of snow through the Midwest, Great Lakes, and into the Mid-Atlantic and New England. A few areas of lake effect snow are likely with northwest flow moving over the Great Lakes.

Thanks so much for reading! Next update on Monday (November 24).

Zach Butler

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.

Getting Started

1. Go to Favorites or any location screen.
2. Scroll down under "Weather" or "Snow Summary".
3. View extended forecasts out to 15 days.

Please note that 11-15 day forecasts will move to our new Premium plan soon.

View: 11-15 Day Forecasts