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FOUS11 KWBC 150811
QPFHSD

Probabilistic Heavy Snow and Icing Discussion
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
311 AM EST Fri Nov 15 2024

Valid 12Z Fri Nov 15 2024 - 12Z Mon Nov 18 2024

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

This morning, an upper level trough will advance through the Great
Basin and into the Rockies by this evening. Periods of snow
along the Sierra Nevada and northern Great Basin this morning will
move into the northern Rockies tonight with the Tetons, Wind
River, and Absaroka ranges seeing the heaviest snowfall. Snow will
also pick up in intensity along the Wasatch, Uinta, Big Horn,
Little Belt, and Big Snowy ranges tonight and into Saturday
morning. WPC PWPF shows moderate chances (40-60%) for >6" of
snowfall along the Sierra Nevada above 9,000ft. High probabilities
(>70%) for snowfall >8" are forecast along the ridgelines of the
northern Great Basin above 6,000ft and the Absaroka, Tetons, and
Little Belt, and Big Snowy ranges above 7,000ft.

Elsewhere, the Pacific Northwest will witness a fairly tranquil
day weather-wise today. This changes by Saturday as the next
Pacific trough approaches with a stronger IVT (>500 kg/m/s, or
above the 90th climatological percentile via NAEFS) will direct
another plume of Pacific moisture at the region. Strong synoptic-
scale support will also be present as 200-500mb winds over western
Washington top the 90th climatological percentile. As the warm
front arrives Saturday night, snow levels will rise to as high as
5,500ft, but once the cold front pushes through on Sunday, snow
levels will crash and result in precipitation changing over to
heavy snow Sunday afternoon in the Olympics and Cascades. Heavy
snow will continue to push inland through the interior Northwest
Sunday night while persistent upslope flow leads to a prolonged
stretch of accumulating snowfall above 3,000ft in the Cascades.

Through this weekend, the northern Cascades and the Idaho
Panhandle above 5,000ft sport high chances (>70%) for snowfall >12"
with low-moderate chances (30-50%) for >18" in the tallest peaks.
In the Oregon Cascades and Blue Mountains, WPC PWPF shows
moderate-high chances for >12" of snowfall. WSSI-P depicts
moderate-high chances (50-70%) for Major Impacts in the WA/OR
Cascades above 4,000ft, which includes some notable passes such as
Snoqualmie Pass.

...Northern Maine...
Day 1...

Some light ice accumulations are expected across portions of
northern Maine this morning. Warm air at mid levels overrunning
sub-freezing low level temperatures will support periods of
freezing rain/drizzle, especially from the St. John Valley on south
through the Southern Aroostook. The primary impacts would be icy
roads in some areas that could lead to slick travel conditions. WPC
PWPF shows low-moderate chances for ice accumulations >0.01"
through this afternoon.


Mullinax





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