It’s going to be a great weekend for skiing across Oregon. Snow levels are dropping now and will bottom out around 1,500 feet Sunday and Monday. That means the snow will remain cold and squeaky.
As far as new snow goes, get your powder goggles on for Saturday. Five to ten inches of new snow will fall Friday night into Saturday morning. The higher amounts will fall across the northern half of the state, and northeast Oregon will reap the benefits of about 4 to 6 inches of new snow. Mt Hood ski areas should be close to 10 inches on the upper slopes and Mt Ashland in the 5 to 8 inch range. There should be some free refills early on Saturday as snow showers continue, but even late in the day, the edges of the groomed runs should remain pretty fluffy.
For Sunday, we see more in the way of sunbreaks but it stays cold. Start thinking sunscreen, but there may be a few inches new for early birds on Sunday.
Looking ahead to next week, we’ll see a few inches each day but no major dumps. Monday may bring the most new snow, 2-4 inches in the Cascades, so Tuesday morning may be the best day for new snow and some silky smooth skiing and riding. Our weather dries out a bit at the end of next week, and snow level will climb to roughly the pass levels on Thursday and Friday.
We may be treated to some blue bird days next weekend, but this weekend, it’s all about the POW.
Happy trails and turns,
Matt Zaffino
KGW Chief Meteorologist
