Another Major Snowstorm Hitting US West
Another Major Snowstorm Hitting US West
Published : 16-Feb-2024 03:33
The second series of big snowstorms in a fortnight is starting to hit the Western US, with most ski areas in California posting at least a foot of snowfall in the past 24 hours.
Donner Ski Ranch posted the biggest overnight snowfall of 17 inches (43cm) with Palisades Tahoe (pictured) and Mammoth Mountain both posting 13" (33cm) in the same period.
The snow is also falling further inland in the Rockies and The Tetons with America's biggest ski area Park City Mountain resort in Utah posting 14" (35cm) in the same period, Jackson Hole in Wyoming 15" (37cm).
The snowfall is expected to continue, with breaks, into the middle of next week.
The latest series of storms follows a similar series the week before last which saw up to 2-metre total accumulations on high slopes over six days.
The snowstorms come after an unusually warm and dry first half of the winter blamed on a "very strong El Nino" system from the Pacific. However, the current storms are being associated with a different long-established climatic system, a flow of moist air from the southern Pacific known colloquially as the 'Pineapple Express' which brings lots of moisture heavy air, deposited as torrential rain on lower ground, heavy snowfall up high.
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