[leadin]A whopper of a storm is rolling through the West. The ski town buzz is finally getting some legs.[/leadin]
A storm that already dropped nearly an inch of rain on California is rolling slowly inland.
Did you miss the snow? Here’s a video glimpse at Donner Summit this morning around 9 a.m. Enjoy! pic.twitter.com/rMqqV7cxlU
— Brian Hickey (@kcraBrianHickey) November 2, 2015
CALIFORNIA / TAHOE
First stop Lake Tahoe. While initial forecasts had called for up to two feet, the warm nature of the storm kept precipitation totals lower.
Still, though, for California, every drop counts right now.
The updated National Weather Service report from this afternoon is calling for 3-6″ more of the white stuff at about 7,000 feet. Regardless, it looks like many areas around Lake Tahoe will see about a foot by Wednesday.
MONTANA & IDAHO
Next stop on the Snow Train is Big Sky, Montana. Big Sky is set for a fairly epic early season dump, with up to two feet forecasted to fall. That’s pretty optimistic thinking, but even the National Weather Service is calling for up to 13 inches in the mountains near Big Sky. Good news for the mountain as it aims for a Thanksgiving opening.
Areas of Idaho are also about to get walloped. The modest Magic Mountain is predicted to get a nice 12″ dump, and other areas of the state are likely to get a nice white coat, too.
According to the latest National Weather Service warning for the area:
SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW WILL FALL TONIGHT AND TUESDAY IN THE HIGHLANDS SOUTH OF THE SNAKE RIVER BASIN AND A RAIN/SNOW MIX IS LIKELY LATE TONIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING IN THE TWIN FALLS/JEROME AREA. AT 530 PM MST SNOW WAS ALREADY ACCUMULATING AT ROGERSON IN TWIN FALLS COUNTY AT AN ELEVATION OF 4900 FEET. THE SNOW LEVEL WILL LOWER TO 4200 FEET BY MORNING AND ELEVATIONS ABOVE THAT LEVEL CAN EXPECT 3 TO 7 INCHES OF SNOW TONIGHT THROUGH NOON TUESDAY.
COLORADO
As usual, Wolf Creek in Colorado will likely be a big winner for the state, with OpenSnow calling for 10″ at the resort, which will already be open and should give skiers some nice soft turns.
Further north, the resorts along I-70 (Copper Mountain, Breckenridge, Arapaho Basin, etc.) and Aspen should see 3-5″, not a lot for this time of year, but a good addition to the white peaks as snowmaking is well under way at most, if not all, these resorts.
Get stoked, skiers and riders, winter is REALLY just around the corner! Get out there and do your snow dance.
