Skiers over Rocky Mountains to be treated to snow for start of 2020

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist

Updated Dec. 31, 2019 5:43 PM

A storm riding in from the Pacific Northwest will be the first snowmaker across much of the Rockies for the new year.

Snow is forecast to slowly expand southeastward over the mountains of Idaho and western Montana through Tuesday night.

During Wednesday the snow will continue over the northern Rockies, as fresh powder also piles up across western Wyoming, northern Utah and northwestern Colorado.

By later Wednesday night, snow is forecast to reach the mountains in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico.

"The storm is forecast to bring a general 1-3 inches to the lower elevations from northern Montana to northern New Mexico," AccuWeather Meteorologist Courtney Travis said.

"From 1 to 2 feet of snow is likely to pile up over the high country in northwestern Wyoming, north-central Colorado and north central Utah with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™of 36 inches," she added.

A few inches of wet snow are in store for Salt Lakes City on New Year's Day with a foot of snow possible over the Benches.

Much of and perhaps all of the snow may avoid the Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo areas of Colorado.

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True Arctic air is not likely to be tapped by the storm, limiting widespread blizzard conditions. However, travel is still expected to become difficult and dangerous in some areas.

Motorists venturing along portions of Interstate 15 in Utah, Idaho and Montana, as well as I-70 in Colorado and Utah; I-80 in Wyoming and Utah and I-90 in Montana and Idaho should be prepared for wintry conditions and possible road closures. Road conditions will range from wet to slushy in the lower elevations to snow-covered over the mountains.

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On Dec. 30, in Portland, Oregon, crews rescued a climber, 16, who fell 500 feet on Mount Hood. The climber was reported to be in stable condition.

Additional storms are likely to continue to roll in from the Pacific Ocean and hit the Northwest states first. Even in lieu of Arctic air, the frequent storms are likely to keep temperatures below average over much of the Rockies in the coming weeks.

Where skies become clear and winds diminish at night, areas with fresh snow cover can still become very cold even without Arctic air.

In a similar setup, Colorado recently manufactured its own cold air with temperatures plummeting as low as minus 48 on Monday morning, despite the lack of an Arctic intrusion.

Download the free AccuWeather app to check the forecast in your area. Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.

January will feature one of best astronomy shows of the year

By Brian Lada, AccuWeather meteorologist and staff writer

Updated Dec. 31, 2019 2:11 PM

It will be a busy start to the year for stargazers as one of the first nights in January features a major meteor shower, one that people in North America won’t want to miss.

Here are the top three astronomy events to look for throughout January:

1. Quadrantids meteor shower
When: Jan. 3-4

January’s star-studded sky will have an extra twinkle on the night of Jan. 3 into Jan. 4 as the Quadrantids meteor shower puts on a brief, but impressive celestial light show.

The ingredients are coming together for a good showing this year for observers in North America with the Quadrantids forecast to reach their climax around 3 a.m. EST in a moonless sky.

“The Quadrantids have the potential to be the strongest shower of the year but usually fall short due to the short length of maximum activity (6 hours) and the poor weather experienced during early January,” the American Meteor Society explained on its website.

People in dark areas far away from light pollution could see as many as 100 meteors per hour, while those closer to well-lit cities or highways may only count closer to 20 meteors per hour.

Stargazers that miss the Quadrantids will need to wait until the spring for the next opportunity to see a meteor shower, when the Lyrids peak on April 22.

2. Wolf Moon eclipse
When: Jan 10-11

The new year will feature four penumbral lunar eclipses and the first of which is slated to take place in mid-January.

The lunar eclipse will be visible on the night of Jan. 10 into Jan 11 for most of the world, including Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe, Atlantic Canada and Alaska. The balance of North America, as well as South America, will not be able to see the eclipse.

The first penumbral eclipse of moon of 2017 is seen in Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudhry)

Eclipsed moon or not, January’s full moon has taken on many nicknames over the year. The most popular nickname is the Wolf Moon, as it is the time of year when wolves are most often heard, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. Other nicknames include the Snow Moon, the Moon after Yule and the Spirit Moon.

3. Venus to grow brighter in the evening sky
When: Late January

Venus has become a prominent feature in the southwestern sky after sunset in recent weeks, and Earth’s celestial neighbor will continue to grow brighter as the month transpires.

The planet is easy to spot as it outshines almost every star in the sky, but the evening of Jan. 27 may be a good time for people to set up their telescopes and point it in the direction of Venus to reveal a planet too dim to see with the unaided eye.

On that Monday evening, people with telescopes will be able to use Venus as a reference point to find the elusive Neptune, which can be found just below and to the right of Venus and will look like a dim blue star.

Looking back at December

Stargazers bundled up and headed outside on the night of Dec. 13 to view the Geminids, regularly one of the best meteor showers of the entire year. Unfortunately, the Geminids peaked right after the full moon, which washed out many of the dimmer meteors.

About one week later, the December solstice brought the longest night of the year to the Northern Hemisphere, giving stargazers ample time to take in what the heavens had to offer. Just one night later, people stepping outside were able to see the Ursids, the final meteor shower of 2019.

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In this long exposure photo, the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the Boeing Starliner crew capsule lifts off on an orbital flight test to the International Space Station from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force station, Friday, Dec. 20, 2019, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

Early in the month, Rocket Lab launched an Electron rocket into space from New Zealand, which left behind incredible clouds in the sky.

A few days later on Dec. 11, Blue Origin launched their New Shepard spacecraft into space after being delayed due to poor weather conditions. This was an uncrewed flight that carried NASA science experiments.

After years of planning and development, Boeing launched its Starliner spacecraft on its maiden voyage on Dec. 20. Starliner was on a mission to the International Space Station, but an issue with the launch sent the uncrewed spacecraft into the wrong orbit. It successfully returned to Earth two days later.

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Jupiter is well known for its Great Red Spot, a large storm that has swirled on the planet for centuries. But in December, NASA announced the discovery of a new storm on Jupiter’s south pole that is larger than Texas and has winds higher than 200 mph.

An interstellar comet that was discovered by an amateur astronomer in August made its closest approach to the Earth on Dec. 28. The comet may be visible to those with telescopes through January.

Winter storm train to hammer northwestern US well into January 2020

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist

Updated Dec. 31, 2019 5:44 PM

Unrelenting storms will pound the northwestern United States well into 2020 and escalate the risk of flash flooding, mudslides and avalanches as ski resorts continue to be bombarded with heavy snow.

"Expect rounds of strong winds from the storms with the potential for power outages," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brian Thompson said.

"Snow levels will vary with each storm," Thompson said. "At times rain may reach to pass levels, and at other times, snow may dip to just above sea level through next week."

This satellite loop from Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2019, shows an atmospheric river taking aim at the northwestern United States. (NOAA / GOES-West)

The main thrust of the storms through this weekend will focus on British Columbia and western Washington. A general 3-6 inches (80-150 millimeters) of rain will fall, but an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 12 inches (300 millimeters) is likely on the west-facing slopes of the Olympics, Cascades and Coast Mountains.

The cumulative effect of each storm will make the hillsides unstable. With each round of drenching rain, the risk of mudslides and other debris flows will increase over the lower elevations.

Episodes of heavy rain in low and intermediate elevations will cause streams and rivers to run high with the risk of flooding.

Meanwhile, above the passes over the high country, a heavy load of snow, on the order of 3-6 feet (1-2 meters) with local amounts to 9 feet (3 meters) will pile up over the next week. The snow load from each storm and periodic gusty winds can make the snowpack unstable with an increasing risk of avalanches.

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Even at intermediate elevations, heavy snow with some storms and a wintry mix and rain with others can also heighten the avalanche risk.

Intermittent rain and snow will progress farther inland over eastern Washington and Oregon, including areas often sheltered by precipitation due to the proximity of the Cascades. Periodic, locally heavy snow will fall over the Blue Mountains and the various ranges that make up the northern Rockies into next week.

The first weather system of the barrage will continue to affect the region through Wednesday night. Rain and snow will push southward into Oregon as snow slides southeastward over the Intermountain West.

This storm has the potential to bring several inches of snow to Salt Lake City on New Year's Day to Wednesday night.

A second storm will waste no time rolling in from the Pacific later Thursday to Friday. This storm is likely to bring heavy precipitation and difficult travel over the passes in the Washington Cascades. Snow levels will start off low, near 1,500 feet Thursday afternoon, before rising.

The heavy precipitation will be accompanied by gusty winds late this week. Gusts averaging 25-50 mph are expected to buffet the Washington coast with more powerful gusts to near 60 mph (97 km/h) likely in British Columbia.

A storm during Friday night and Saturday may catch up to the Friday storm, and little to no break is anticipated in unsettled weather over British Columbia. Washington may only catch a few hours’ break between the storms.

The weekend storm is likely to be the most potent of the bunch especially in terms of wind. Gusts approaching 75 mph (120 km/h) are predicted along the British Columbia and northern Washington coastline, and gales may exceed 60 mph (97 km/h) over the passes.

As this storm progresses inland, gusts approaching 90 mph (145 km/h) are possible over the passes in Montana and the foothills east of the Rockies from Montana to southern Alberta.

The unrelenting onslaught of storms will not end after this week, but the origin and nature of storms may evolve as January progresses, according to AccuWeather meteorologists.

"It is possible that a shift in the storm track develops later next week where storms move from north to south across British Columbia and the northwestern U.S. instead of straight in from the west off the Pacific Ocean," Thompson said.

"As this occurs, enough cold air may sink southward to allow snow to fall at very low elevations along the coast," he added.

It is possible that a storm or two will bring rare snow down to near sea level during the second and third week of January.

Download the free AccuWeather app to check the forecast in your area. Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.