Chase Powder Daily Snow
By Powderchaser Steve, Forecaster Posted 7 years ago February 23, 2017
WASATCH AND COLORADO UPDATE
Update
Heavy snow broke in the Wasatch (12-18 inches) creating fantastic conditions in Park City (16 in 24 hours) including resorts to the north (Snowbasin, Powder) and resorts in the Cottonwoods (12-16).
Snow is falling at a moderate clip currently along the higher terrain of the Wasatch. 6-8 inches has fallen as of 10PM Wednesday in the Cottonwoods. Slightly lower amounts in the Park City area and still snowing.
A brief break in the action may occur late tonight before NW flow kicks in by daybreak. Additional moderate snow will be falling over most of Utah tomorrow morning and continue through early PM (5-11). Light to moderate snow will continue into Thursday evening. Total additional snowfall in northern Utah should be n the 11-18 inch range by late Thursday. An additional 3-6 is likely Thursday night. "Storm ski Thursday and even first chair Friday could be good!"
Storm totals (3 day including Wednesday morning report) should be in the 18-28 inch range.
Colorado is a wildcard! Heavy snow will be falling in southern and central Wyoming (1-2 feet). Northern Colorado (Steamboat) may benefit from the cold air early Thursday (Snowing) with moderate amounts likely. Models show a deeper fetch of moisture for Western Colorado. Snowmass, Powderhorn, Sunlight, and perhaps Beaver Creek are favored. Even spots like Crested Butte could do well on Thursday with West winds. Light snow will be falling as far south as Telluride. Summit County might end up on the short side according to models. The caveat is that it's possible that the cold air orographics take over and produce what models are telling me (Breckenridge or Vail are on watch). Areas north of I-70 like Winter Park, Estes Park and Eldora are likely to reap rewards (4-9)
The good news for Colorado is that snow showers will continue into Saturday. Light to moderate refreshes are are going to happen into early this weekend. Total snowfall could exceed 8-15 inches in many areas with a continued NW flow (May not see any single double digit dump but conditions will continue to improve). Often models underestimate snow with cold air orographics.
I will update this forecast as conditions change.
Powderchaser Steve