Snow Returns to the West: Feet Forecasted From Washington to Utah

The best snow shifts in stages this week. The Cascades and the Canadian Rockies get first crack Tuesday into Thursday, then the focus slides into Idaho and Montana late Thursday before the Wasatch finishes strongest on Friday.

Mount Baker, Banff Sunshine, Brundage, Grand Targhee, and the Little Cottonwood resorts are the main targets, while Colorado stays on the lighter side through the end of the week.

Confidence is best from Tuesday morning, April 14, through Friday afternoon, April 17, 2026. The models agree on the colder pattern and the handoff from the Northwest to the Interior, but they still differ in intensity around Oregon and Alberta, and wind will matter a lot in the higher Cascades.

That makes this a quality-over-quantity chase: Baker is cleaner than some windier Cascade totals, Banff gets colder snow midweek, and Utah looks best once the late-week front clears. See below for the deepest projected snowfall totals for April 14-17, 2026.

Ski Resort Snowfall Totals: April 14-17, 2026

• Solitude, Utah: 7-11 inches
• Banff Sunshine, Alberta: 19-28 cm(7-11 inches)
• Tamarack, Idaho: 8-13 inches
• Big Sky, Montana: 8-13 inches
• Snowbird, Utah: 8-13 inches
• Alta, Utah: 8-13 inches
• Mt. Baker, Washington: 10-15 inches
• Grand Targhee, Wyoming: 10-15 inches
• Brundage, Idaho: 11-16 inches
• Timberline, Oregon: 13-18 inches

Storm Timing and Discussion

The first meaningful wave builds into the Cascades late Tuesday and then spreads into Alberta and interior British Columbia through Wednesday night. The models are converging well on timing and on falling snow levels, so confidence is solid that the Northwest turns colder and snowier in that stretch, but they still diverge on intensity, especially around Timberline and Banff Sunshine.

Mount Baker is the cleanest Washington target, with 10-15 inches by Thursday morning and only moderate wind, while Timberline could pile up 13-18 inches by Thursday night, with gusts pushing 60-75 mph during the core of the storm. In Alberta, Banff Sunshine looks good for 19-28 cm by Friday morning as snow levels fall from around 1500 meters to below 1000 meters and the snow turns drier.

A second colder wave pushes the best skiing east and south from Idaho into Montana and then Utah from Wednesday night through Friday. Here, the models are converging on the frontal timing and the big snow-level drop, but they diverge more on the exact bullseye and on how much wind lingers behind the front, so confidence is higher in the regional shift than in one exact mountain. Brundage is the Idaho leader with 11-16 inches by Thursday evening, Grand Targhee reaches 10-15 inches by Friday afternoon, and Big Sky lands 8-13 inches but with rougher wind on Thursday. The Wasatch arrives later but finishes best: Alta and Snowbird each look good for 8-13 inches by Friday afternoon, with denser snow early Thursday giving way to fluffy snow Friday as snow levels fall from around 7500 feet to near 2000 feet and winds ease. Colorado should only manage scattered 2-7 inch refreshes through Friday, so it stays behind the main chase lanes.

Daily Chase Recommendations

Each day's snowfall range combines the previous night (4 p.m.-8 a.m.) and that day (8 a.m.-4 p.m.).

Tuesday, April 14, 2026

Mt. Baker is the best Tuesday target with 4-5 inches of heavy to moderate snow, steadily lowering snow levels, and only modest wind.

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Banff Sunshine is the cleanest Wednesday call with 8-11 cm of moderate snow in subfreezing temperatures, and the quality improves as winds back off late.

Mt. Baker stays in play Wednesday with 6-9 inches of moderate snow and much better wind than the higher-output but rougher Oregon targets.

Thursday, April 16, 2026

Banff Sunshine remains the top Thursday choice with 8-13 cm of fluffy snow, cold temperatures, and light wind preserving the best surface of the week.

Brundage is the Idaho standout on Thursday with 6-9 inches of moderate snow, colder air through the day, and far less wind than Big Sky.

Friday, April 17, 2026

Snowbird is the Friday bullseye with 6-10 inches of fluffy snow, falling temperatures, and lighter wind once the front clears.

Big Sky is the fallback Friday chase with 3-5 inches of fluffy snow on top of Thursday's reset and much lighter wind than the day before.

Extended Outlook

Beyond Friday, the broader pattern still leans active across the Northwest and Canadian Rockies, with another round of mountain snow possible Sunday into early next week and the larger-scale signal favoring wetter than normal conditions there through April 18-26. Utah and Colorado also have another shot later in the period, but the spread is much wider there: the conservative read is for a lighter mountain refresh, roughly 3-6 inches in many ranges and locally 6-12 inches if the colder solutions win, rather than another locked-in multi-foot cycle. Temperatures should moderate some after the late-week cold shot, especially south and east of the Northwest.