Photo courtesy of Photos.com. Mar 11, 2012; 11:09 AM ET
While the eastern part of the country will be basking in warmth, the weather has taken a stormy turn across the West.
This stormy weather pattern will continue at least through much of the upcoming week according to meteorologist Matt Alto. Alto states that "A sharp dip in the jet stream will funnel multiple storms into the West over the coming week."
This pattern, while not favorable for outdoor activities, will help to alleviate some of the dry conditions and the lack of snowpack in the mountains.
Snowpack in the Sierra Nevada of California was running at about 30 percent of normal as of the end of February. This is a far cry from the same time last year when snowpack and snow-water equivalent were above average in the vicinity of 120% of normal.
The photo above courtesy NOAA shows the snow depth across the Sierra Nevada as of March 11. This depth map is a far cry from last year with many areas only receiving 30% or less of their normal snowfall.
Normally, this would be bad news in terms of the water supply as the winter snowpack feeds into local rivers and reservoirs. However, with well above-normal snow last year, reservoirs are still running near or above average for this time of year.
If heavy snow didn't fall last year, the state of California would be facing drought conditions and water restrictions.
Additional good news is that the stormy pattern which is going to become the norm this week will send several fronts through California beginning Tuesday and Wednesday.
Moisture will stream into central California throughout the middle and late week producing heavy snow throughout the Sierra Nevada.
Snow levels will start out relatively high on Tuesday and Wednesday, in the vicinity of 5,000 to 6,000 feet in the Sierra before dropping to 2,000 to 3,000 feet by Friday night.
Not only will rainfall be welcome across central and northern California, but the added snowpack will improve skiing conditions in the mountains.
March is typically a big month for ski resorts in the West with people taking vacations and schools going on spring break.
The added snow over the next week will improve the snowpack and should allow many ski resorts to thrive over the next few weeks.
With a lack of natural snow, several resorts in California aren't operating at 100%. That includes the Dodge Ridge Ski Area in the central Sierra and the Badger Pass Ski Area near Yosemite National Park.
The Sierra Nevada isn't the only area suffering from below-normal snowfall. Snowfall in the Wasatch Range of Utah is also running behind compared to this time last year.
Snowbird Ski Resort outside of Salt Lake City, Utah, is only operating with 73% of their terrain open.
This pattern will indeed bring some snow to the Wasatch and the Colorado Rockies beginning Saturday, but by far the heaviest snow will fall in the Sierra as well as the Cascades.
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