FOUS11 KWBC 170812
QPFHSD

Probabilistic Heavy Snow and Icing Discussion
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
312 AM EST Sun Nov 17 2024

Valid 12Z Sun Nov 17 2024 - 12Z Wed Nov 20 2024

...Western U.S....
Days 1-3...

A developing active pattern is in its early stages as the first in
a series of Pacific storm systems revolves beneath the base of a
longwave trough that will become quasi-stationary in the Gulf of
Alaska to start the period. Then, as a strong ridge builds over the
Aleutians mid-week, the longwave trough will dive south into the
northeast Pacific and direct a steady barrage of rich Pacific
moisture at the region into the second half of the week. Tonight,
the warm front associated with the initial surge in Pacific
moisture is working across the interior Northwest. Meanwhile, a
cold front will push across western WA/OR Sunday morning that will
cause snow levels to plummet to as low as 2,000ft in the WA
Cascades and 2,500ft in the OR Cascades by this afternoon. By
Sunday evening, some locations on the windward side of the Cascades
could see snow levels as low as 1,000ft. It is also worth noting
that there are likely to be some instances of freezing rain today
with low-moderate probabilities for >0.01" of freezing rain in
parts of eastern OR and the northern ID Panhandle.

The falling snow levels will occur well inland across the Northern
Rockies Sunday night and into Monday. NAEFS shows 500-700mb temps
and heights that are below the 10th percentile throughout the
Northwest on Monday. This unusually cold air-mass is in place at
the same time as persistent onshore flow, courtesy of the longwave
trough to the north, strikes mountain ranges such as the Cascades
at an orthogonal angle to maximize the snowfall potential through
Monday. Following a brief lull Monday night, a rapidly
strengthening storm system (both the GFS and ECMWF have the low sub
950mb by Tuesday afternoon!) will direct a stronger atmospheric
river at the Pacific Northwest with not only exceptional moisture
advection (>750 kg/m/s IVT on NAEFS would be above the 97.5
climatological percentile Tuesday afternoon), but intense winds
along the mountainous terrain. Robust warm air-advection late
Tuesday and into Tuesday night will lead to snow levels rising to
above 3,000ft in the WA Cascades and Olympics, around 4,000ft in
the OR Cascades, and 6,000ft in the northern California ranges by
Wednesday morning. The concern would be for the potential for a
heavier/wet snow type to rapidly accumulate, while powerful wind
gusts potential lead to tree damage and power outages Tuesday
night and into Wednesday.

All told, there is no shortage of snow in the forecast for the
Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies. Snow is likely to be
measured in feet along not just the Cascades above 3,000ft, but the
Olympics, the Salmon/Shasta/Siskiyou of northern California, and
well inland through the Blue, Sawtooth, Boise, Bitterroot, Tetons,
and Lewis Mountain Ranges. The latest WSSI shows Moderate to Major
Impacts in the Cascades and Bitterroots with impacts including not
just dangerous travel conditions (including notable Cascade
passes), but the weight of the snow and strong winds by Tuesday
night could result in tree damage and power outages in some areas.

...Northern Plains...
Day 3...

Confidence is increasing in a powerful late November cyclone to
track from the Southern Plains on Monday and race north into the
Midwest Monday night. Both NAEFS and ECMWF SATs support a highly
anomalous area of low pressure Monday night, but the ECMWF is
farther west and closer to the Missouri River than the NAEFS, which
is located farther east over central Iowa. By Tuesday morning, the
NAEFS (a GFS/CMC ensemble based tool) shows the storm about to
cross the Mississippi River in southeast MN while the ECMWF is over
southwest MN. The primary reason for this is the ECMWF shows a
slightly slower and stronger 500mb solution than the GFS, albeit
they are not overly different in the storm evolution.

Where they differ is that the ECMWF (RGEM as well) phases sooner
with an upper level disturbance over the northern High Plains and
is pulled farther west than the GFS. By 21Z Tuesday, both the ECMWF
and RGEM show a closed 500mb low near Bismarck, while the GFS is
more elongated and does not close off fully until a few hours later
near the ND/Canada border. These details are critical in
determining where the deformation zone (or heaviest snow bands) set
up; over the Dakotas or more over south-central Canada. For the
moment, WPC PWPF shows moderate-high probabilities (50-70%) for
>4" of snowfall over north-central ND. It is worth noting that the
WPC PWPF does show low chances (10-30%) for snowfall >8", and near
the North Dakota/Canada border, a small 10% chance area for >12" of
snowfall. Residents in the Dakotas should monitor the forecast
closely over the next 24-48 hours.

While exact amounts are unclear, the exceptionally strong storm
system over Minnesota coupled with high pressure building in over
the Northern Rockies will make for a very windy setup over the
Northern Plains. Snow is still expected to fall across much of
central and western North Dakota and wind gusts of 30-40 mph would
result in whiteout conditions for areas that, in some cases, would
experience their first round of accumulating snowfall this season.
The Probabilistic WSSI (WSSI-P) shows moderate-high chances
(50-70%) for Minor Impacts across much of central North Dakota with
the highest probabilities focused in north-central North Dakota.
The WSSI-P shows Snow Amount and Blowing Snow to be the primary
impacts in these areas. In summary, while exact amounts remain low
confidence at this range, the combination of some accumulating snow
and hazardous visibility reductions due to blowing snow are still
likely to cause some treacherous travel conditions in these areas
late Tuesday and into Wednesday morning.


The probability of significant ice across the CONUS is less than 10
percent.

Mullinax
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