Lake-effect snowfall tapered off in western New York late this weekend after another 1 to 2 feet of snow had fallen there during the past couple of days. Storm-total amounts of 6 to 8 feet are widespread. Lesser amounts of snowfall occurred in the Michigan Upper Peninsula and in northern and western Lower Michigan, where up to 1-1/2 feet of snow fell this weekend. In the West, a system moved onshore into the West and brought up to 1 foot of snow to the higher elevations of the northern and central Sierra Nevada and up to 1/2 foot of snow to the southern Cascades. Up to 1-1/2 feet of snow fell in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah as the energy and moisture from this system moved eastward through the West; up to a foot of snow fell in western Colorado as well. At lower elevations, moderate rainfall occurred due to the warm nature of this air mass.
Due to the warm air and rains, very warm snowpacktemperatures were present across the West except for the higher elevations in Montana, Wyoming and central Colorado. Slow to moderate snowmelt occurred in the warm areas. East of the Rockies, cold weather continued, and the snowpack remained cold and stable.
Upper-level energy from the system which moved across the West will develop a surface low over the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles today and move to the Middle Mississippi River Valley. Moisture will be drawn northward from the Gulf, and a strong jet stream aloft will cause strong upward motion. The result today will be a band of moderate snowfall from the northern Plains through the central Ohio River Valley. Up to 6 inches of snow is possible in this band today. Tomorrow, the system will move from the lower Mississippi River Valley to the North Carolina coast. At least 1/2 foot of snowfall is likely from northern Illinois through western Massachusetts, with the greatest amounts south of Lake Erie, which will be augmented by lake effect. On Wednesday, the storm will deepen as it moves along the East Coast to near Nova Scotia Thursday morning. UP to a foot of snowfall is possible along the Canadian border from Lake Ontario through northern Maine, with most of the northeast except for the coast receiving at least 6 inches of snow. Freezing rain is also likely with this system, today in a band just north of the lower Ohio River Valley, and tomorrow (more significantly) from the central Ohio River Valley through northern Virginia to New Jersey, and Wednesday around southeastern New York.
In the Southwest tomorrow, another disturbance from the Pacific will bring moderate snowfall to the higher elevations of southern Colorado and northern New Mexico, and a system approaching the Northwest on Wednesday will bring up to a foot of higher-elevation snowfall to the northern Cascades and heavy rainfall to lower elevations.
weather.gov
