The East Coast just experienced a major winter storm this past weekend with heavy snowfall for ski resorts in the Northern Mid-Atlantic and New England, and significant ice accumulations over the Southern Mid-Atlantic and Southeast.

In the wake of this storm, a bitterly cold airmass is settling into place, and temperatures will be well below average.

In the West, chilly temperatures will linger over Colorado and New Mexico after a good storm on Friday-Saturday, but an overall warming trend is expected with just some weak storms favoring the Northwest. These storms in the Northwest will come with rising snow levels due to the arrival of warm air. 

We're having some technical issues with our OpenSnow snowfall forecast maps this morning, so in today's post, I'll be showing forecast snowfall images from the European AI Model instead. We should have the issues with our forecast snowfall maps fixed in the near future.

Forecast for Monday (Jan 26):

Snow will linger across New England and Quebec on Monday morning as the East Coast storm departs. Light lake effect snow showers will also develop over the Great Lakes and into the Alleghenies in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Now that most of the lakes are freezing over, lighter lake effect snow events are favored compared to recent weeks.

In the West, a weak storm will bring light snow to Northern and Central British Columbia. 

Forecast for Tuesday (Jan 27):

It will be a quiet day for most areas aside from lake effect snow showers across the Upper Midwest and Northeast. Snow will also develop over far northern California on Tuesday night as a weak storm approaches.

Forecast for Wednesday (Jan 28):

A weak storm will move into the Northwest with light snow developing from Northern California into the Washington/Oregon Cascades. Initially, snow levels will be low enough for snow at Washington ski resorts, while Oregon will have a rain/snow mix.

Heavier snow is expected further north in the British Columbia Coast Range, while further east, only some light snow showers will reach the Northern U.S. Rockies.

In the East, light lake effect snow showers will continue from Michigan to Western New York.

Forecast for Thursday (Jan 29):

A storm will continue to impact the Northwest, but warmer air will arrive with rising snow levels and a changeover to rain/mixed precipitation at many Cascade and Coast Range ski resorts. Light snow will reach the interior of British Columbia and far Northern Idaho and Montana.

We could also see some light snow showers reach Northern Colorado and Eastern Wyoming, but it doesn't look like much.

In the East, the pattern will remain the same with an overall cold airmass in place along with additional light lake effect snow showers from Michigan to New York. 

Forecast for Friday (Jan 30):

A stronger but warmer storm will reach the Northwest, bringing rain and snow. Most Cascade ski resorts will see rain, and snow levels could reach mid-mountain at Whistler, with heavy snow possible near the top of Whistler.

Snow will also develop across the Interior of BC and Alberta, and the Northern U.S. Rockies, but lower elevation terrain will be vulnerable to rain here as well.

In the East, a storm is expected to brew toward the end of the week, with snow becoming possible over the Southern Mid-Atlantic by Friday night. 

Outlook for Sat (Jan 31) to Wed (Feb 4):

A coastal storm is possible in the East this weekend. We are still 5+ days out, so confidence in the exact storm track is low, and there is always a chance it tracks too far out to sea for any impacts. But if the center of low pressure with this storm tracks close enough to the Coast, then a significant winter storm would be possible.

In the West, a ridge of high pressure looks to strengthen, leading to further warming with well-above-normal temperatures expected along with mostly dry conditions.

Along the northern periphery of the ridge, storms will remain possible over British Columbia (Coast Range favored), but warm temperatures will likely result in high snow levels and rain issues.

Thanks so much for reading! Next update on Wednesday (January 28).

Alan Smith