On Wednesday and early Wednesday evening, the deepest snow totals were in the southern mountains with about 6-10 inches of snow accumulation.

Then on Wednesday night into Thursday morning, the storm strengthened over the northeastern corner of Colorado, and this strengthening allowed heavy snow to wrap-around the storm, back over the northern mountains.

Thursday morning’s official reports are:

Mary Jane – 10”
Loveland – 7”
Arapahoe Basin – 6”

Webcams and SNOTEL sites at northern mountains show 3-10”, with the deepest amounts near and north of I-70, up to Rocky Mountain National Park and Cameron Pass.

Between the official reports above, which were measured at 500am, and now at 700am, it appears that an additional 2-4 inches of snow have accumulated.

The latest high-resolution models show that this steady, wrap-around snow will continue through about 12-noon on Thursday before turning to showers, so the northern mountains could get 4-8 inches of snow through midday.

This means that you’ll find powder on Thursday morning and midday, and with temperatures in the low-to-mid 20s, the snow quality should actually be pretty good (for early May ... don't expect total blower:-).

A final note comparing this storm to the storm two weeks ago...

This storm is producing steady, wrap-around snow with deep accumulations. The previous storm did not do this.

The major difference between the two systems is that this storm is strengthening as it moves into eastern Colorado, and the previous storm was slowly weakening. Strengthening is important as it allows more moisture to wrap-around the storm, and stronger winds to hit the mountains, causing more lift.

The model forecasts for both storms produced a very wide range of snow forecast amounts (a few inches to 20+ inches), and this wide range isn’t super helpful to those of us seeking powder (though it does put into perspective the uncertainty inherent in the forecast).

After working through both of these storms, I think that keeping an eye on the storm’s overall strength might be a useful deciding factor about whether or not to believe the higher end of the snow forecast.

This is (seriously, this time) likely my final post for the 2017-2018 season and I’ll plan to post again later in the summer with an update on our new website and app and a look at the next season … thanks for reading and enjoy the pow!

JOEL GRATZ

OpenSummit

Since most of us hike, bike, climb, etc in the spring, summer, and fall, we are working to bring you weather information for those sports as well. Check out the OpenSummit app, available now for iPhone (Android later this summer), which provides hourly weather forecasts for Colorado’s 14ers. We’ll be adding more data and more trails soon. More info & download: https://opensummit.com

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