Where's the Snow this Weekend: West Coast Report 11/8/12

Break out the coats, as it is going to be a cold week with a bit of snow for the West Coast mountains. Two cold troughs, one on Thursday and one next week, will push cold air from the North down the coast. And with each cold front we’ll see some snow in the mountains.

The cold air will help the ski resorts to get the snow guns blasting white on the slopes. Low temperatures at night will be well below freezing through this weekend as the cold air settles in. This is the critical time for snowmaking to build a base for the season.

The snowfall, with this first cold front, will be light over the Cascades of Washington and Oregon on Thursday as the moisture skirts the coast. Further South, the Sierra could do a little better with Lake Tahoe expecting up to a foot of snow on the mountains and several inches further South to Mammoth Thursday into Friday.

Over the weekend the weather remains cool as we see a brief break in the action before another cold front works its way South down the West Coast. Monday and Tuesday we could see several inches of snow in the Cascades. This front looks like it will fall apart by the time it reaches California, so just a reinforcement of colder air may be in store. 

Taking a peak at the longer range there is the possibility that the storm door opens a little wider starting the weekend before Thanksgiving. We will continue to watch the trend as some substantial snowfall just before the Thanksgiving Holiday would be just the gravy we need.

Bryan Allegretto is a Weather Forecaster for OpenSnow.com.