Winter Weather Watch: High Mountain Snow for the West
Winter Threats
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Big Storms for West Coast
Welcome to the weather.com Winter Watch page. Here, we will detail the latest winter weather threats, spelled out in the graphic above and the winter weather summary write-up below, updated by Winter Weather Expert Tom Niziol (Twitter | Facebook), Sr. Meteorologist Tom Moore, and our Global Forecast Center meteorologists.
In our threat graphic on this page, we depict three levels of risk:
- "Aware": These areas should be aware of potentially impactful winter weather ahead.
- "Alert": These areas should be on alert for impacts to road and air travel.
- "Action": Prepare for major travel disruptions, as well as school & business closings.
West Winter Alerts
West Winter Alerts
![West Winter Alerts]()
Latest Winter Weather Summary
- Pacific Coast Through Inter-Mountain West
Additional rounds of precipitation to impact the West Coast through the weekend. First system targets a swath from San Francisco northeast across the Sierra Friday and Friday evening. Snow levels will be above 7000 ft limiting impacts to highest mountain passes on I-80. Next system comes through late Saturday through Sunday, working its way from northern California mainly across the Shasta Range Saturday night then south across The Central Sierra Sunday with additional heavy snowfall above 7000 ft. To put this in perspective, the highest elevation of I-80 through Donner Pass is about 7,230 ft., so right at the crest travel could be impacted by significant snowfall.
Farther north through the Washington Cascades snow levels will drop to 3000 to 4000 ft later in the weekend with heaviest snows affecting the mountain passes along I-90. Farther inland across the Central Idaho through Northern Wyoming ranges including the Sawtooth, Bitterroots and Tetons is where I expect the heaviest snowfall with well over 2 feet at highest elevations above 7000 ft.
- Great Lakes Through Northern New England
Another weak system skirting the Canadian border will bring limited moisture from the Great Lakes through New England today and tonight. Snowfall totals from 1 to 2 inches are likely. There is also the potential for brief periods of freezing drizzle across northern Lower Michigan this morning. Farther east, across upstate New York through Interior New England tonight, there is also potential for freezing drizzle, mainly across valley areas where cold air will be trapped.
Click here or the next button above to see our winter storm name list for 2012-2013, the criteria we're using, and why we're naming winter storms.
Winter Threats
Play Video
Big Storms for West Coast
In our threat graphic on this page, we depict three levels of risk:
- "Aware": These areas should be aware of potentially impactful winter weather ahead.
- "Alert": These areas should be on alert for impacts to road and air travel.
- "Action": Prepare for major travel disruptions, as well as school & business closings.
West Winter Alerts
West Winter Alerts
Latest Winter Weather Summary
- Pacific Coast Through Inter-Mountain West
Additional rounds of precipitation to impact the West Coast through the weekend. First system targets a swath from San Francisco northeast across the Sierra Friday and Friday evening. Snow levels will be above 7000 ft limiting impacts to highest mountain passes on I-80. Next system comes through late Saturday through Sunday, working its way from northern California mainly across the Shasta Range Saturday night then south across The Central Sierra Sunday with additional heavy snowfall above 7000 ft. To put this in perspective, the highest elevation of I-80 through Donner Pass is about 7,230 ft., so right at the crest travel could be impacted by significant snowfall.
Farther north through the Washington Cascades snow levels will drop to 3000 to 4000 ft later in the weekend with heaviest snows affecting the mountain passes along I-90. Farther inland across the Central Idaho through Northern Wyoming ranges including the Sawtooth, Bitterroots and Tetons is where I expect the heaviest snowfall with well over 2 feet at highest elevations above 7000 ft.
- Great Lakes Through Northern New England
Another weak system skirting the Canadian border will bring limited moisture from the Great Lakes through New England today and tonight. Snowfall totals from 1 to 2 inches are likely. There is also the potential for brief periods of freezing drizzle across northern Lower Michigan this morning. Farther east, across upstate New York through Interior New England tonight, there is also potential for freezing drizzle, mainly across valley areas where cold air will be trapped.
Click here or the next button above to see our winter storm name list for 2012-2013, the criteria we're using, and why we're naming winter storms.
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