Chase Powder Daily Snow

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By Powderchaser Steve, Forecaster Posted 7 years ago March 28, 2017

ANOTHER UPSLOPE MYSTERY STORM THAT SCALES THE WESTERN SLOPE AND FRONT RANGE

Summary

Here we go again! The pattern is evolving to impact southern resorts on the far western side of Colorado as we forecasted yesterday followed by a deep upslope event near Denver this afternoon and tonight. Silverton, Purgatory, and Telluride all nabbed decent amounts last night (7-12) so hopefully you chased south. The 3 models I use are all hinting at a southerly track over the front range tonight impacting areas along the Divide and East. Summit was once again teased with 3 inches last night and might get another teaser tonight.

Short Term Forecast

The GFS model is still the most bullish for Colorado tonight with 5-10 inches for spots around the Eisenhower tunnel and 4-8 inches for Summit County.  The Euro which updated last night (Not quite as recent as the GFS) still takes most moisture south.  The HRR (Short range high resolution model) splits the amounts and in my opinion has the best short term accuracy.  The HRR does not go out as far time wise as the other models. 

My take:  Another round of moisture will be moving into most mountain zones of Colorado along I-70 today.  Heaviest amounts will be found along the Divide as well as far western Summit near Eagle with points west into the Grand Mesa (Powderhorn).  Moisture stretches south into sections of Pitkin County (Snowmass) and areas south. Significant snow is indicated on the models through Chaffee and Lake Counties (12 inches plus).  Ski Cooper which I have not ridden might sneak out a decent dump so keep a heads up for today. Its a resort that I don't usually follow so this is speculative yet hopefully it happens.   Light snow will begin falling over most of central and eastern Summit Counties today (Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper). 

Snow will increase along the Continental Divide tonight and favor the southern Front Range foothills (6-12). There may be a sharp cutoff of deep snow just west of Georgetown.  I am on the low end bullish side for Loveland and A Basin (4-9) with less confidence further west.  I suspect Summit will nab another 2-6 inches by Wednesday morning with higher amounts on the eastern flanks of the Divide. If your lucky the track will shift slightly further north putting Summit in a much better advantage.  Loveland might score well if the winds stay northerly before shifting to the NE.

HRR through 9 PM MST for Colorado (Chaffee County in the 12 inch range with Summit primarily in the light or dark blue).

The heaviest moisture will drop south from the Palmer Divide into New Mexico (12-18 inches).  Northern New Mexico gets into an upslope flow putting all of the northern mountains in a snowy pattern. With upslope flow my confidence is higher with Ski Santa Fe versus Taos.  The caveat:  More moisture will be falling in the north so Taos will be still be in the action (3-7).  Highest amounts may fall east and slightly south. 

Extended Forecast

Another storm system drops into the 4 corners late this week and should provide a good opportunity for moderate or heavy snow in many areas.  Details will be provided on a later post. 

Powderchaser Steve

About Our Forecaster

Powderchaser Steve

Forecaster

Powderchaser Steve has over 45 years of experience chasing storms based on his weather and local knowledge of resorts on both the East and West Coasts. His snow intel will likely land him at the deepest resort and almost never missing "First Chair" in the process. Follow "The Chase" on OpenSnow to find out where the deepest snow may be falling.

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