🌨 Today's Powder Alerts

Resorts with significant snowfall in the next 48 hours

Built Different

Most snow forecasts are a single NWP model in a pretty wrapper. We built a real ensemble.

53
Ski Resorts
Ikon + Epic + independent, across 12 states and British Columbia
3
NWP Models
Multi-model ensemble with disagreement as a confidence signal
NOAA GFS ECMWF AIFS DWD ICON
26
Training Stations
High-altitude SNOTEL + GHCN observations, Sierra to Vermont
Daily Updates
Fresh forecasts every 6 hours, aligned with each GEFS cycle
112
Features
ERA5 reanalysis, HRRR, ERA5-Land, climate indices, orographic physics
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1-Day MAE
Mean absolute error, verified daily against NOAA. See scorecard →

Snow Forecasts by Resort

Select a resort for detailed 15-day probabilistic snow predictions

Why PowCall?

Purpose-built for skiers who want accurate, actionable snow forecasts

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3-Model NWP Ensemble

Forecasts blend three independent numerical weather prediction models: NOAA GFS (31-member GEFS ensemble), ECMWF AIFS, and DWD ICON. Multi-model disagreement is a feature, not a bug — it tells us how confident to be.

DeepPowder v3 ML Model

XGBoost trained on 26 high-altitude observation stations across the West and Northeast, with 112 features including ERA5 reanalysis, HRRR, climate indices, and orographic physics. 33% more accurate than our previous generation.

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Sierra & Northeast Coverage

Most models struggle with Sierra orographics and Eastern synoptic storms. We extended training to Mammoth Pass, Gem Lake, Central Sierra Snow Lab, Pinkham Notch, and Mt. Mansfield — cutting Sierra error by 56%.

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Verified Accuracy

Every prediction is scored daily against NOAA SNOTEL and GHCN observations. Unlike other services, we publish our track record publicly at /scorecard — no cherry-picking, no manual adjustments.

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Powder Day Alerts

Get notified when significant snowfall is in the forecast. Alerts highlight resorts expecting 6+ inches with high ensemble agreement, so you never miss a powder day.

4× Daily Updates

Forecasts refresh after each GEFS model cycle (00Z, 06Z, 12Z, 18Z). You always see the latest data, with forecasts extending 15 days from the most recent run.

How PowCall Works

From global weather model to your mountain's snow forecast

Ingest GEFS Data

We pull the latest 31-member GEFS ensemble from NOAA at 0.25° resolution, extracting precipitation, temperature, and wind for each resort's grid point.

Orographic Enhancement

Mountains squeeze extra moisture from clouds. We apply per-resort, wind-direction-dependent orographic multipliers with dynamic damping for heavy precipitation events.

Snow Conversion

Liquid precipitation is converted to snow depth using Kuchera snow-to-liquid ratios that account for temperature. Lapse rate corrections adjust for the difference between GEFS grid elevation and actual summit/base elevations.

Ensemble Aggregation

The 31 ensemble members give us a probability distribution. We report the 10th percentile (conservative), 50th (expected), and 90th (optimistic) for each 6-hour period, then aggregate to daily totals.

Resorts by Region

Snow forecasts for ski resorts across the western United States and beyond

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about PowCall's snow forecasts

How accurate are PowCall snow forecasts?
PowCall uses 31-member GEFS ensemble models with per-resort orographic correction and Kuchera snow-to-liquid ratios. Forecasts are verified daily against SNOTEL station data. Probabilistic ranges (10th-90th percentile) give you realistic best-case and worst-case snow totals, so you know both what's likely and what's possible.
What ski resorts does PowCall cover?
PowCall covers 50+ ski resorts across 10 states and British Columbia, including all major Ikon Pass destinations plus Brundage Mountain in Idaho. Coverage spans Utah's Wasatch Range, Colorado's Rockies, California's Sierra Nevada, the Tetons, the Cascades, and Northeast mountains.
How often are forecasts updated?
Forecasts are refreshed 4 times daily, approximately 5 hours after each GEFS model initialization (00Z, 06Z, 12Z, 18Z). This ensures we're always using the most current atmospheric data. Each update provides a fresh 15-day forecast extending from the latest model run.
What does "orographic correction" mean?
The GEFS global model runs at 0.25-degree resolution (~28km grid spacing), which smooths out mountain terrain. Ski resorts sit on ridges and in valleys that the model can't fully resolve. Orographic correction applies wind-direction-dependent multipliers to account for the additional precipitation that mountains squeeze from moist air flowing over them. Each resort has custom multipliers calibrated for its specific terrain and wind exposure.
What is a snow-to-liquid ratio (SLR)?
SLR determines how many inches of snow you get per inch of liquid water equivalent (precipitation). Cold, dry storms produce light, fluffy powder with ratios up to 17:1, while warm storms produce dense, heavy snow at ratios as low as 5:1. PowCall uses the Kuchera method with 8 temperature tiers to estimate the appropriate SLR for each forecast period.
How does PowCall differ from other snow forecast apps?
PowCall uses a transparent, model-driven approach based on GEFS ensembles with explicit probabilistic ranges. Unlike most forecast services that show a single number from proprietary models, PowCall provides full probability distributions (10th/50th/90th percentile) so you can see the range of outcomes. We verify all forecasts against SNOTEL actuals and publish accuracy metrics daily — something no other service does at this level of transparency.
What is SNOTEL and how is it used for verification?
SNOTEL (Snow Telemetry) is a network of automated weather stations operated by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. These stations measure snow depth, snow water equivalent, precipitation, and temperature near ski resorts. PowCall pulls daily SNOTEL observations to verify predicted snowfall against what actually fell, tracking accuracy metrics at multiple lead times.

Ready to Find Your Next Powder Day?

Check the latest 15-day snow forecasts for all 50+ ski resorts.

View Snow Dashboard