While Americans in the Southeast will be dealing with Hurricane Isaias and its remnants over the weekend of Oct. 10, folks in the opposite corner of the nation will be battling wintry, snowy weather.
"The first widespread snowfall of the season is expected across the Northern Rockies this weekend into early next week," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Weather Prediction Center
said in a post on X on Oct. 7.As much as a foot is possible in some of the highest elevations of the Rockies, forecasters said. "This will be a significant early-season snowfall for 6-12 inches of snow at elevations as low as 4,000 feet in the northern part of the Rockies from Saturday [Oct. 10] through Monday [Oct. 12]," AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Brett Anderson said in an online forecast.
"While there has been some high-elevation snow in recent weeks in the Cascades and northern Rockies, snow levels will dip much lower in portions of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Adam Douty added.
"Snow will fall for the first time in some of the valley locations in this region, with heavy snow over the higher terrain," he said.
Oddly enough, moisture from a Pacific hurricane (Rachel) will contribute to the Rockies snowfall, forecasters predicted.
Rachel's remnants: 'A very rare circumstance'
The remnants of the eastern Pacific's Hurricane Rachel will continue to interact with a large trough of low pressure in the West, leading to widespread heavy rainfall and localized flash flooding from the Southwest into the Great Basin, Rockies, and eventually the northern Plains on Sunday (Oct. 11) into Monday (Oct. 12), the Weather Prediction Center said.
"Furthermore, cold air surging behind the cold front will lower snow levels, leading to accumulating snow over high elevations across the northern Rockies through Monday [Oct. 12] causing possible minor to moderate impacts."
The National Weather Service in Missoula, Montana, in an online forecast discussion, said that seeing moisture from a tropical system in the northern Rockies is highly unusual: "This is a very rare circumstance, but moisture from the remnants of Hurricane Rachel will track northeastwards from California and Nevada towards the Yellowstone and Wyoming area."
Snow in the national parks
Those heading to Glacier National Park should be prepared for heavy snow, according to AccuWeather. Some snow will also fall and accumulate at intermediate and high elevations around Yellowstone National Park.
Pattern change
After a few weeks of unusual warmth, the West as a whole will see much cooler weather over the weekend. "A long-duration October heatwave across portions of California and the Desert Southwest is showing signs of easing as a major shift in the upper-air pattern is in store for the western U.S.," the WPC said in an online forecast.
Forecasters from AccuWeather share this prediction: "A major pattern change is coming to the western United States this weekend, as the jet stream takes a plunge, helping to fuel a substantial early-season snowstorm for parts of the Rockies," said AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.
Wet, heavy snow could lead to power issues
"The snow is expected to be heavy and wet with this event, which may weigh down power lines and trees," the WPC said on X.
Heavy, wet snow can knock out power by weighing down tree branches and power lines until they break, especially when accompanied by strong winds, according to a post on the weather blog WeatherScientific.com.
Doyle Rice is a national correspondent for USA TODAY with a focus on weather and climate.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Weekend forecast calls for 'first widespread snowfall'
