The Big Picture
One cold front does most of the work this week. It drops through the northern Rockies Friday, and Big Sky leads the continent with 5–11 inches over seven days, though Friday alone is uncertain: the models range from about an inch to 9 inches. Behind it, Canada turns wintry. Banff Sunshine and Whistler Blackcomb each pick up 3–8 inches and Lake Louise 2–7, with highs in the mid 20s in the Canadian Rockies this weekend. Wolf Creek is the wild card, a soaking Thursday and Friday that most models keep as rain and one turns into more than a foot of snow. The Northeast stays dry all week.
Circle Friday at Big Sky and Saturday at Whistler Blackcomb, where the models agree on 2–4 inches. Nobody gets a powder day yet, but the cold that follows is good news for snowmaking from Montana to Alberta.
Pacific Northwest
Cool and mostly dry through Saturday, with gusts near 35–40 mph at Mt. Hood Meadows Thursday and Friday and near 30 mph at Crystal Mountain, where Friday’s high stops in the upper 30s. Light snow returns Sunday and comes and goes into Wednesday: a coating to 5 inches at Mt. Baker over the week, a coating to 4 inches at Crystal Mountain and Stevens Pass, mostly Sunday and Wednesday, and a coating to 3 inches at Mt. Bachelor Monday and Tuesday as highs drop to around 30. Mt. Hood Meadows sees mostly rain, up to about half an inch Tuesday, and an inch of snow at most. Schweitzer stays rain, 0.3–1.3 inches over the week.
California & Nevada
A weak, cool system crosses the Sierra Thursday into Friday. Kirkwood does best with 1–4 inches, most of it Thursday, as highs sit in the mid 30s. Heavenly gets a coating to 3 inches, Palisades Tahoe and Mammoth Mountain a coating to 2, and Mt. Rose an inch or less, with a little rain mixed in at Palisades Tahoe. Gusts near 40 mph at Kirkwood Friday and Saturday could slow upper lifts that are spinning. Dry and sunny from Saturday on, with highs near 50 by Sunday and gusts near 40 mph at Heavenly and Mt. Rose Monday.
Rocky Mountains
Colorado: Rain showers Thursday at Steamboat, Aspen Snowmass and Breckenridge, up to about 0.6 inches, with highs near 50. It turns colder Saturday into Sunday and squeezes out light snow: 1–3 inches at Breckenridge, a coating to 4 at Vail and a coating to 3 at Aspen Snowmass, mostly Sunday. Lows dip to the upper teens at Breckenridge Monday and Tuesday. Steamboat stays mostly dry until a Wednesday chance of a coating to 3 inches. Wolf Creek is the wild card. A wet system sits over the San Juans Thursday and Friday with 0.8–3.9 inches of rain over the week and gusts near 40–45 mph. Highs near 40 keep most of it liquid, but one model turns Friday into 10 inches of snow while the others bring almost none, so treat the 1–15 inch range as uncertain and lean low. Sunday adds a coating to 3 inches as it cools.
Southern Rockies: Taos gets a wet, windy Friday, up to 1.5 inches of rain with gusts near 40 mph, then a coating to 3 inches of snow Sunday as highs drop to around 40.
Utah & Northern Rockies: Alta and Snowbird get rain Thursday, then a cold front Friday with highs in the upper 30s and gusts near 45 mph. Expect a coating to 4 inches at Alta and a coating to 2 at Snowbird Friday, with another coating to 3 inches at both Sunday. Park City stays mostly rain, 0.3–1.3 inches over the week. Sun Valley is wet Thursday and Friday, 0.3–0.8 inches of rain, with a coating to 2 inches of snow Tuesday. Big Sky takes the front Friday with 1–9 inches, then turns bitterly cold Saturday, a high near 35 and a low near 10. Another round Tuesday could add a coating to 4 inches, with up to 3 more Wednesday. Jackson Hole gets 3–6 inches over the week, mostly Friday and Tuesday.
Northeast
Dry, and that is the whole story. Highs climb from the 40s Friday and Saturday to the 50s Sunday and Monday, then a cooler Tuesday and Wednesday brings highs in the mid 30s to low 40s and lows near 20 at Jay Peak, Stowe and Sugarloaf. Gusts near 35 mph at Sugarloaf Thursday and Friday. No snow at any resort through Wednesday.
Canada
The Canadian Rockies own the week. The front arrives Friday and lingers through Sunday: Banff Sunshine picks up 3–8 inches over seven days and Lake Louise 2–7, though the models split on the top end, with highs in the mid 20s Saturday and Sunday and lows in the low teens. Friday and Sunday are the snowiest days. Whistler Blackcomb has the week’s most reliable snow, 2–4 inches Saturday as highs hover near 30, and 3–8 inches over the week. Revelstoke sees 2–4 inches, mostly Sunday. Fernie gets a coating to 4 inches, mainly Wednesday. Mont Tremblant stays dry with highs in the 40s and 50s.
Looking Ahead
Days 8 to 10 keep the West unsettled: Wolf Creek could add a coating to 4 inches next Friday and Crystal Mountain a coating to 2, while the Canadian Rockies hold highs in the upper 20s. The Northeast gets rain, not snow, next Friday, with gusts near 30–35 mph. Confidence is low that far out.
Forecast data: Open-Meteo (ECMWF, GFS, ICON and GEM models), pulled Oct. 22, 2026, 17:04 UTC (Thursday late morning Mountain time), at upper-mid mountain elevation for each resort. Snow ranges show the spread between the four models; where they disagree widely, the text says so.
