I have returned to the internet following my four-day, three-night hut trip in the mountains west of Leadville. Thanks to Sam Collentine for writing the Colorado Daily Snow while I was gone!

Now on Monday morning, we have partly cloudy skies across Colorado with light snow showers hitting some of the northern mountains.

The next storm is already approaching Colorado, though it will take a track to the south of our state. Sometimes this track could result in dry weather here in Colorado, but the storm will toss enough energy and moisture to the north to bring us some snow.

The snow will start on late Monday afternoon in the foothills to the east of the divide and to the west of Denver. Then the snow will increase in coverage on Monday night, backing up to the west and likely getting to Berthoud Pass & Winter Park, Summit County, and perhaps the eastern end of Eagle County (Vail & Beaver Creek) as well as the eastern end of Pitkin County (Aspen area).

By very late on Monday night and through Tuesday morning, the more intense snow will shift south toward Monarch and Wolf Creek (ski areas that are in the eastern part of the central and southern mountains, respectively).

Then on Tuesday, the best chance for significant accumulations will be over the southern mountains.

As for amounts, the most snow will likely fall in the foothills to the east of the divide and west of Denver where we might see up to a foot of accumulation.

For other areas I mentioned above, a general 3-6 inches will likely cover the average snowfall amounts, with deeper snow most likely at the areas that are further to the east.

The high-resolution NAM 3km model shows the following for the snow forecast through Tuesday afternoon.

And the high-resolution CAIC 4km model shows similar amounts, with a bullseye over the southern mountains on Tuesday, though that will depend on scattered storm cells happening to hit certain mountains.

For all areas I mentioned above that are NOT the southern mountains, the best chance to ski powder will be on Tuesday morning. For the southern mountains, Wolf Creek could be favored in the morning, while the other areas could see more snow accumulate through the day on Tuesday.

This first storm of the week will move away on Tuesday evening, and then another storm will move toward Colorado from the northwest on Tuesday night.

On Tuesday night and Wednesday, we could see snow showers with light accumulations in the northern mountains. Then on Wednesday night into Thursday morning, the storm will move through the northern mountains and should bring significant snow as it does. I think the northern mountains could have a nice powder day on Thursday morning with 4-8 inches in favored areas.

Following the northern mountain powder on Thursday morning, I think that the time from Thursday midday through Saturday night will be dry for most of Colorado.

The next storm should then bring snow to the northern mountains from Sunday through Monday. I do not know if this storm will be stronger or weaker, but no matter, I do expect that the northern mountains will get snow on Sunday and Monday, and that Monday morning has a chance to be another powder day.

We will then see a break in the action for the middle of next week before most models indicate our next storm arriving on or around April 5-6th.

Summing this up, it looks like we’ll see four storms in the next 10 days. Winter is far from over as this forecast indicates, and we’ll likely see additional storms through at least the middle of April. The key to skiing powder in March and April is to get it while it’s cold, usually in the morning or when the sky is cloudy, since direct sunshine at this time of year can quickly turn soft powder into a goopy, wet mess, especially on slopes that are NOT facing north.

Thanks for reading, and while it was fun for me to be offline for a few days, it’s great to be back online, tracking these storms!

JOEL GRATZ

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