Major storm cycle brings 4-8 ft of snow Jan 7-14!

[size=small](Note: Title edited to include dates.)[/size]

First major Pacific Northwest storm cycle of 2013-14 season to bring 4-8 ft of snow this week?

During the past 2 days, weather models have started predicting a major change in the weather pattern over the Pacific Northwest during the next week. The anomalously strong and persistent ridge of high pressure which has lingered just off the West Coast for much of the last 3 months may weaken and shift southward, allowing sustained westerly flow and a major winter storm cycle for the first time this season (at least since the exceptional late September 2013 storm cycle, which produced the most September snowfall in the Pacific Northwest since 1972).

The NWS's GFS model and the high-resolution UW WRF-GFS model which is built on it are showing up to 8-10" of precipitation over the next week, with snow levels generally in the 2000-4000 ft range. Snowfall during the next 3 days through 4pm Thursday is predicted to be 2-4 ft over the west slopes and volcanic peaks of the Washington and Oregon Cascades, plus the Olympics:



Higher resolution version of that, zoomed in on WA and OR:





There's a one-day lull predicted around Friday, then another sustained period of snowfall through Sunday. The model shows another 2-4 ft of snowfall over the Washington Cascades by Monday, with much lesser amounts for the Olympics and Oregon:




It will be be interesting to see whether the model's snowfall predictions for this week actually verify or not. The models could certainly be wrong, and the persistent ridge might continue to persist. But at least the models are predicting a major pattern change and sustained heavy snowfall for WA and OR, something which they have not really done thus far this season.

Hope so!

I'll believe it when I ski it.

THANKS---FINGERS CROSSED (AND TOES?).

That is welcome news.

awesome forecast at least, not news yet.
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