The past 48 hours brought some surprises to Colorado, especially over the Continental Divide and the higher elevations of Breckenridge and Vail.  Over 34 inches has fallen in 7 days at Breckenridge, 20 inches at Vail and 18 inches in 24 hours at Loveland Ski area (Open). Skiers at both Loveland and A-Basin were met with storm skiing conditions on Saturday!  The Tetons are nabbing heavy snow currently with all models depicting a decrease late Sunday night. An increase of snow showers for the next 3 days will bring moderate to heavy snow for the Tetons (Amounts from Late Sunday to early Wednesday may exceed 8-11 inches on top of the 8-9 they received today).  Some hefty 5-day totals will be coming in by Wednesday morning in the Tetons (1-3 feet elevation dependant).  

Below: Today- Powderchaser Steve skinning at Breckenridge in some deep pow!  Photo: Eric Rasmussen - Dog: LoLa (Loves the snow).  

Below: Total additional snowfall for the Tetons through Wednesday night (7-14 likely from Sunday afternoon to Wednesday). 

Below: University of Utah Plumes are off the charts (Average of all model runs of the GFS, Euro, Canadian) for the Tetons through the week.  Most snow will fall Sunday/Monday increasing again Tuesday night or Wednesday. 

In Colorado, snow is falling heavily in many areas along or north of I-70.   Models show the heaviest amounts will be found near Steamboat (Mount Werner summit) and areas just north in near Buffalo Pass (Steamboat Powder Cats).   Significant totals of 12-18 inches will be found in these areas through Monday morning (Peaks).  NW flow will also perform for most of the Vail Valley extending into much of Summit County.  The latest HRR (Short-term high-resolution model) is trending higher for snowfall in these areas. It's possible that 10-15 inches will fall from 5 PM Sunday to 5 PM Monday favoring the northern mountains.  I would put a bit of favoritism on Breckenridge, Vail, and Steamboat.  Aspen will also score some very high amounts especially Snowmass, Highlands, and Sunlight near Glenwood Springs.  6 inches has already fallen at Breck from noon to 5 PM Sunday!  Moderate snow is likely in Crested Butte with light to moderate amounts found further south into Telluride (Like NW wind direction, but most moisture is going to be north).  The University of Utah averages of all model runs is showing pretty decent agreement on the amount for the peaks around Steamboat shown below (12-15). 

Below: Total additional snowfall for Colorado through Thursday morning.  Most will fall Sunday night and Monday. These amounts may be underdone! 

The Cascades deserve a mention.  Colder air will be spreading into the Northwest on Monday.  High elevation snow (Summits) will bring decent amounts to the Cascade range including Crystal, Stevens, and Baker.  NW winds favor Crystal, however, the models show higher amounts near Baker? Not sure who will win the race here, and expecting 4-9 inches for much of the Cascades above 5,000 feet Sunday night into Monday evening. Some snow will be falling as low as 4,000 feet especially Monday morning.  

Below: Cold air moving into the Cascades Monday/Tuesday

Below: Total snowfall for the Cascades through Tuesday night

Persistent west-northwest flow will dominate through Wednesday.  Occasional snowfall (light to moderate) will be found in a wide area of western Montana, Wyoming, and the Colorado Rockies. Higher mid week totals will most likely fall in Montana and the Tetons followed by leftovers in Colorado. Areas around Whitefish, Missoula, western Idaho, Driggs, Jackson will see persistent waves of light to moderate events.  The sum totals may be decent!   

There may be another ripple of snow for Saturday over the Rockies before it appears we trend into High Pressure the following week.  

Thanks to Mountain Wave Snowboards for helping me out with my backcountry gear last week.  Be sure to visit them in Breckenridge if you are visiting the Summit County area.  

Remember, High winds on the next system Sunday/Monday will increase avalanche danger!  Never assume early season conditions are safe. It's quite the opposite!  

Powderchaser Steve