Storms sweeping across the western U.S. will bring heavy mountain snow, cold rain and wet snow at lower elevations and travel disruptions from the Northwest to the Southwest. Santa Ana winds will follow the storm.
Cold storms moving inland this week will bring heavy mountain snow from the Cascades to the Rockies, creating dangerous travel over mountain passes and potential delays in cities such as Salt Lake City and Denver as the system pushes southeast.
These storms will sweep from Washington and Oregon into Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado and bring rounds of snow to the mountains and interior West, along with cold rain at lower elevations near the Pacific coast.
A wintry week for the Northwest
Several feet of snow will pile up over the Cascades through Thursday night, with 6 to 10 feet possible in the highest elevations. As fresh snow piles up, the risk of avalanches will increase on steep mountain slopes.
Up to a few feet of snow will accumulate at pass levels in the Cascades. Snowfall rates may approach or exceed 2 inches per hour at times. As snow levels drop in the Cascades, snow will broaden into lower elevations. This combination of heavy snowfall and high rates could make it difficult for road crews to keep up, closing some mountain passes…