Mid April comes through with a bang as a powerful winter storm graces the middle of the country. This winter does not want to go quietly, and that’s fine by us! Here’s what the weather has to offer this week.
Eastern U.S. & Canada
For the East, it’s all about a powerful April storm that plows through the Midwest Thursday-Friday. This one will end up being one of the more powerful storms in the month of April that the Midwest has seen, so be sure to get out to enjoy it at those ski areas still turning lifts – for best bets, look to Lutsen Mountains and Wild Mountain (reopens 4/13) where 6-12” or more snow will fall Thursday through early Friday.
To the east of this storm, in the Northeast, it’s all about spring conditions. It’s going to be a mild stretch, with two wet systems to tolerate Friday night and Monday. Temps will dip briefly following Monday’s system, which may help squeeze out a few wet inches of snow into Tuesday (April 16).
Spring is really making a fight for the East in the mid-range outlook with generally milder and wetter than normal conditions into the end of April, so get out and enjoy the snow that's still left in the Northeast. There's still some great spring skiing and riding out there. Check out who is still open in the Northeast here.
Western U.S. & Canada
An active forecast continues in the West through this week’s SnoCast. A powerful storm system bringing blizzard conditions to the Plains will leave behind some leftover light snow showers across the Rockies on Thursday and colder temps. This will allow for snow to stick on the trails of all those ski areas planning to stay open. There are still tons of open resorts-check out the latest here before planning your weekend.
A weak system brings more light snow showers scattered across the western mountains from Thursday-Friday with a general 1-4” for many peaks. A few spots that may see locally more include Idaho’s mountains, around Brundage Mountain which will be best early Friday. Light snow showers sink as far south as California’s Sierras later Thursday night-Friday which could bring as much as 3-6” near Mammoth Mountain. Then, some of the leftover snow scoots through Colorado’s Rockies later Friday night-Saturday dropping a few inches, so head toward Breckenridge or Loveland for some nice turns to kick off the weekend.
Generally conditions will stay slightly colder than usual, and somewhat active for the West right through the end of April.
Until next week! Thanks to Northern Vermont University – Lyndon meteorology students James Mundy and Francis Tarasiewicz for contributions to this article.