A series of Pacific storms will drop along the Northwest Coast over the next few days, sweeping Pacific moisture across the mountainous terrain of the Western U.S. While the Cascades and Sierra Nevada will receive most of the precipitation (perhaps several feet of snow), higher elevations of Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and Colorado are expected to benefit as well.
Following last winter's disastrously low snowpacks across the West (and a slow start to this year's snow season), the Pacific storm systems will be welcomed by all who live throughout these semiarid landscapes. Though East Pacific hurricanes injected flooding rains across the Four Corners region this summer, most of the American West remains in a multi-year drought.
Hopefully, these early season storms portend a wet winter and heavy mountain snowpacks, recharging our rivers and reservoirs. Of course, the verdict won't be handed down for several months.
