Mountain Snowpack Update

Few measures of our weather/climate are more closely followed then our mountain snowpack, which brings us both recreation and water resources.

There are, of course, some concerns for this this winter, since we expect El Nino conditions for the second half of our cool season, with El Ninos generally associated with lower snowpack on April 1.  El Nino effects on our snowpack are most profound after January 1, so it is useful and important to know where we are now.

So let's take a look!

The latest USDA Snotel (December 25) reports shows near-normal conditions east of the Cascade crest, which is very important for water resources there.  Near normal in the Olympics and in eastern Oregon, and normal to above normal in the Sierra Nevada.  Colorado is in very good shape.  In contrast, the western slopes of the Cascades in Oregon and southwest WA are below normal (roughly 60-80%).  Overall, we are in decent shape.

Our snowpack has come a LONG way from the low-snowpack conditions of November and early December, when high pressure was persistent (but with more sun as a result!)  I will demonstrate this  by showing you the amount of water in the snowpack (snow water equivalent or SW) from  last night at 10 PM (left panel) versus one month ago (right panel) from the NOAA National Snow Analysis (below)   Wow...big improvement!  Enough to make skiers smile.

Compared to last year (a La Nina year), our high mountain snowpack is as good or better (see last year on December 16th below), but there was unusual lower elevation snow last year (remember the White X-Mass last year)? 

What about the forecasts for the upcoming week?    For a change, lets look at the accumulated forecasts from the European Center model.  Over the next to days,  they are going for light snow in the mountains, with a low-snow level (2-8 inches in the mountains)

 But there will be MUCH more over the next week, with as much as 2-3 feet total snowfall above roughly 5000 ft.

The bottom line is that our mountain snowpack will start the El Nino season in relatively good shape .

And skiers can get out and enjoy decent conditions, particularly in places like Mt. Baker, Crystal Mt and Whistler, which have plenty to snow.

Finally, I really enjoyed reading the ski area snow reports and particularly love the enthusiasm of the Mt. Baker folks, who are barely able to contain themselves regarding the powder (POW) on their slopes.  Check out the video below.

Dec. 24 Powder & Sunshine from Amy Trowbridge on Vimeo.



from Cliff Mass Weather and Climate Blog http://bit.ly/2BFWaVO