Colorado Daily Snow
By Joel Gratz, Founding Meteorologist Posted 6 years ago February 22, 2018
Multiple storms through Sunday
Summary
On Wednesday night, the steadiest snow fell in the southern mountains (2-10 inches) while most other central and northern mountains received a dusting to an inch. We’ll see a similar pattern on Thursday, with the next storm bringing 3-6 inches to most mountains from Friday afternoon through Saturday morning. The final storm in the series should drop another 2-4+ inches from Saturday afternoon through Sunday morning. Snow conditions should be soft through the weekend due to these storms plus cold temperatures. Early next week will be dry then we should see more snow during the middle and end of next week.
Short Term Forecast
Wednesday was dry and sunny for most areas, then clouds moved in during the afternoon as the next storm from the south moved closer to Colorado.
On Wednesday night, this southern storm brought steady snow to the southern mountains with lighter snow in the central and northern mountains. The storm totals from Wednesday evening through Thursday morning at 5 am:
Northern Mountains
Steamboat - 1”
Others - dusting
Central Mountains
Powderhorn - 3”
Crested Butte - 1”
Monarch -1”
Snowmass - 1”
Sunlight - 1”
Others - dusting
Southern Mountains
Wolf Creek - 20” (wowzers!)
Cimarron Mountain Club - 5"
Silverton - 5”
Purgatory - 3”
Telluride - 2”
On Thursday we will see a similar snowfall pattern as Wednesday night with the southern mountains favored for an additional 3-6 inches while the central and northern mountains see snow showers and potentially 1-3 inches.
On Thursday night, the snow showers should end, though there could be light additional accumulations, especially in the southern mountains.
Then the next storm will bring snow
After a short break on Saturday morning through midday, the final storm will bring snow from Saturday afternoon through Sunday midday with an additional 2-5 inches.
* The best powder will likely be on Thursday (southern mountains), Saturday morning (all mountains), Sunday morning (all mountains).
A few inches of snow every 24-36 hours may not seem amazing but it can add up to super soft and fun conditions.
The only downside about this storm cycle is that temperatures will be cold on Saturday and Sunday, perhaps just a bit too cold for the atmosphere to produce a lot of snow. It’s right on the borderline between the cold temperatures we need for fluffy snow and having temperatures that are too cold and getting smaller flakes and slower and denser snow.
The high-resolution CAIC WRF model shows this for total snowfall from Wednesday night through Sunday midday.
Enjoy this multi-day storm cycle!
Extended Forecast
We will see dry weather from Sunday afternoon through about next Tuesday.
Then, during the middle of next week, a piece of a storm over California will slowly move east and should bring snow to Colorado sometime between Tuesday night and Thursday. The models are having a hard time figuring out if this storm will quickly pass by Colorado with light-to-moderate snow amounts, or if it will strengthen and bring us more substantial snow. I’ll keep you posted.
Looking ahead through early March, it does appear that the best chance for storminess will be along the west coast near California (they need it!) and that, every few days, some of the energy around the west coast could move east and hit Colorado. There is also a chance that we’ll see drier weather with high pressure for a few days, though there appears to be enough storminess along the coast that any period of dry weather wouldn’t last too long.
Thanks for reading!
JOEL GRATZ
Announcements
Hut available for Sunday night!
There are 16 spots available at the McNamara Hut outside of Aspen for Sunday night, February 25th. This hut was reserved by a friend of mine but they can no longer use it. Should be good weather for the night with snow ending Sunday midday and powder laps on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning under clearing skies. If you are interested in taking these spots, email [email protected]
Geography Key
Northern Mountains
Steamboat, Granby, Beaver Creek, Vail, Ski Cooper, Copper, Breckenridge, Keystone, Loveland, Abasin, Winter Park, Berthoud Pass, Eldora, Rocky Mountain National Park, Cameron Pass
Along the Divide
Loveland, Arapahoe Basin, Winter Park, Berthoud Pass
East of the Divide
Eldora, Echo, Rocky Mountain National Park, Cameron Pass
Central Mountains
Aspen, Sunlight, Monarch, Crested Butte, Irwin, Powderhorn
Southern Mountains
Telluride, Silverton – north side of the southern mountains | Purgatory, Wolf Creek – south side of the southern mountains