Where's the Snow this Weekend: Rocky Mountain Report 11/8/12

We’re calling this weekend’s storm “Obamney”, because when two parties collide, a storm is born! After a rather warm and dry stretch over the last week, cold and snow will blanket most western states and more than two feet of powder could accumulate when all is said and done.

The storm will make its way from the Pacific Ocean toward California on Thursday and then continue traveling east through the weekend, eventually passing directly over Utah and Colorado. Weather forecasting models aren’t always exactly right, but most of them called this storm a full 7 to 10 days out, which is remarkable and likely would not have happened with the weather technology of 10 to 15 years ago.

The big winners will likely be the Wasatch Mountains of Utah and the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, where more than two feet of snow could accumulate. In Utah, the usually snowy locations of Alta and Snowbird should do well, and their neighbors at Brighton and Solitude should also pull out good totals. In Colorado, Wolf Creek, Silverton and Durango will experience near whiteout conditions on Friday night and should lead the totals coming from the centennial state. Further north, the Tetons in Wyoming will see about a foot at the highest elevations, and their neighbors to the north in Montana are also in a great position to record up to two feet of snow.

Let’s hope for more storms like this one throughout the winter: big, slow and cold!

Joel Gratz is a Meteorologist and the creator of OpenSnow.com.