It's been quite a week so far! Last Sunday morning, Skibowl had 18" on the ground... now they have 50". And Meadows went from 35" on the ground to 75". The weather pattern responsible is a classic La Nina pattern; storm after storm arriving from the Pacific, with each one bringing lots of Cascade snow and lowland rain.
The mountains will get a breather from the storms on Friday. But the break will be a short one, as the next storm in the series is due Saturday. And it now appears that the weather pattern is going to remain active, with snow-producing storms arriving just about every other day for the next week. Earlier this week, I was fearful that we might transition to a wet but warmer pattern... now, I don't believe that will be the case. The storms lined up in the Pacific all look sufficiently cold to bring nothing but snow to the mountains, but some of the snow may be thick & heavy at times.
Here's how the next few days should play out:
Friday - Mainly dry, good visibility, possibly sunny. Freezing level 3,000 ft.
Saturday - Increasing snow and wind. Snow accumulation 4-8". Snow level 3,500 ft.
Sunday - Snow showers decreasing. Snow accumulation 3-6". Snow level 2,000 ft.
Monday - Increasing clouds, snow arriving later. Snow level 4,000 ft.
Tuesday - Snow, decreasing later. Snow accumulation 8-12". Snow level 2,500 ft.
I'm in Bend at the moment and plan to ski at Mt. Bachelor on Friday. The Northwest Express is tentatively scheduled to open for the season, and with some luck... Bachelor may get Summit open too. I'll let you know how it goes...
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This is just a terrific idea...a blog by a weatherperson who is a skier. I'll be monitoring it regularly, so please keep up the great work.
As my own contribution, I will report that it was a fabulous day at Meadows. Sunny with occasional fog and packed powder conditions. With another foot or two, we won't have to worry about rocks anywhere. I was stunned that the upper lot was closed and the HRM lot was almost filled when I arrived at 10:30, but once Cascade opened, I didn't wait in a line for more than a minute. From here on out it could be a different story, however.
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