With the final days of ski season closing in, we’re taking a look ahead at weather conditions through the end of April and also looking back on this snow season across North America.

A blizzard and localized upslope snow event will take shape in the East, while the Western peaks squeeze out more fresh snow. This week's SnoCast highlights where to find new snow on the slopes coast to coast.

One strong spring storm will pack a powder punch for much of the West for the second full weekend of April. Meanwhile in the East, an incredible temperature contrast will exist near the Canadian border.

Snow has been below average for parts of the West but this week features a big change. (Brighton Resort/Facebook)

A much colder and snowier weather pattern returns to the West with feet of snow while the East warms up with more mixed precipitation.

A few storms in Colorado over the weekend and early next week likely won’t have any effect on the state’s ski resorts, says OpenSnow.com’s Joel Gratz. “Yup, back to spring conditions with harder snow in the morning, softening by the midday and afternoon hours.”

You have to fill your gas tank to go skiing and riding. Michigan Shell stations are offering free lift tickets for every 10 gallons of gas you purchase. The offer is good through the middle of April.

Let's start at the top. The biggest news story of 2014 rolled out of Utah's Wasatch Mountains. No other news story across the nation matched it for continuing drama. It began rumbling in the spring, resonated in the courts all summer, and didn't culminate until shortly before the snow flew. Here's how SnoCountry.com's West Editor Andy Dennison describes it: