32,000-foot dispatch

TL;DR:

Bonus snow fell this morning, and paired with (relatively) warm temps and sunshine, should make for a great day today. Looking ahead, an active week is on tap with snow and steady snow accumulation throughout the week. Snow quality will improve as the week goes on.

Nowcast:

I'm checking out the world from an airplane this morning, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the Wasatch got some cool bonus snow last night! Central Wasatch resorts generally got around 6". Yep, even Park City:

PCMR snow stake, courtesy of Park City Mountain 

It's chilly in the mountains this morning; Mesowest is showing Central Wasatch summit temps in the single digits and most bases in the teens:

Mesowest weather stations as of 0740 (courtesy of Mesowest)

And the GOES-West satellite is showing mostly clear skies over our area:

GOES-West satellite image, courtesy of NOAA

Temps will climb out of the single-digit ditch today and should reach the 20s °F at summits and the 30s °F at bases. With the sun and new snow, it should be an absolutely awesome day!

Short-term:

An atmospheric river is pounding California right now, and it's this system that will be providing a good deal of the moisture we're getting this week.

Looking at the model plumes, you can see that it's going to be an active week, but the snow will come slow and steady rather than in one single big dump. 

PCMR Summit plumes, courtesy of the University of Utah Dept of Atmospheric Sciences

It's quite challenging to pick out the best time to grab deepness because the models seem to be disagreeing more than usual right now; if I had to preliminarily throw out my guesses for the best powder days, I'd say Wednesday through Friday mornings could be good. But again, that was me guessing... although that's just how meteorology works sometimes ;). I'll say this as a blanket statement: expect a generally cloudy and snowy next few days with temps gradually dropping throughout the week.

Long-term:

After this week, things start to look dry, so I'd recommend grabbing your powder skiing now...

Backcountry comments:

Keep an eye on the danger roses this week because the active pattern will once again stress our snowpack. If you plan to travel in the backcountry, make sure you have the proper equipment and know before you go. For the avalanche forecast and many other avy-related resources, head over to our friends at the Utah Avalanche Center.