Grasshopper’s North American Forecast,Thursday Feb 27th – Snow Returns to Some US Regions on Sunday, Canada Misses Out
Mountainwatch |The Grasshopper
Written Wednesday afternoon, 26th February (Pacific Standard Time)
Although winter officially ends in a couple of days – for those who mark it by the calendar – it felt like spring had arrived ahead of time in the North American West this past week. Warm, humid air arrived on the Pineapple Express and brought heavy rain and high-elevation snow to much of the north.
High pressure will bring a break in the action over the next few days. A storm will then reach the Pacific coast Saturday night before ballooning out into a west-wide storm, bringing powder to most regions in the US over the following few days. Unfortunately the storm tracks too far south to bring much joy to Canadian resorts.
Thursday February 27th to Saturday March 1st
Storms targeting the Coast Mountains of Alaska and northern B.C. with heavy snow and low-elevation rain will weaken before reaching the bulk of Canadian resorts further south. Whistler to Marmot will roughly mark the southern boundary of this precip, with both resorts likely only seeing light falls on Thursday.
Further south, high pressure will keep things settled and sunny throughout the U.S. for most of this period. However, the high exits to the east on Saturday, leaving the way clear for a Pacific storm to arrive in the northern Sierras and southern Cascades that evening/night. Temperatures will be nice and cold with moderate-heavy snowfall.
Sunday March 2nd to Wednesday March 5th
Most resorts will score powder between Sunday and Tuesday as the Pacific storm balloons out into a broader west-wide storm while moving eastwards over the area. The Sierras, Southern Cascades and Central Rockies will be most favoured with moderate totals. The Canadian Rockies will also do OK with a top-up on Monday, but the Coast Mountains will see little, if any.
From Wednesday onwards, another Pacific storm will likely favour the Sierras and southern U.S. Rockies with another top-up of powder.
That’s all from me today, folks. Have a great week, and I’ll see you back here next Thursday for another weekly rundown of North America’s highlights and snowlights.
Grasshopper
