Colorado Daily Snow

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By Joel Gratz, Founding Meteorologist Posted 5 years ago November 7, 2018

Two chances for light snow and very cold air

Summary

Wednesday should be dry for most of Colorado with the exception of the far northern mountains. A weak storm on Thursday will bring light snow and chilly air to the northern mountains, then following sunny and warmer weather on Friday and Saturday, our next chance for snow and very cold air will be on Sunday into Monday.

Short Term Forecast

The weather on Tuesday was mostly what we expected with sunny skies for central and southern Colorado while clouds and snow showers hung around the northern mountains.

Just like every day of the past week, there were a few high-side surprises when it came to snow totals. Below are the totals from Tuesday morning through Wednesday morning along with a note about when the most snow accumulated.

Winter Park: 6” (Tuesday afternoon)

Breckenridge: 5” (Tuesday morning)

Steamboat: 4” (Wednesday early morning)

Loveland: 1”

Arapahoe Basin: 1”

Keystone: 1”

Wednesday

Clouds and snow showers are hanging over the far northern mountains but the rest of Colorado should see plenty of sunshine.

Some mountains open for the season today!

Here are the opening dates that are pertinent this week:

Arapahoe Basin - open every day

Breckenridge - open starting on Wednesday 11/7

Eldora - open starting on Wednesday 11/7

Keystone - open starting on Wednesday 11/7

Loveland - open every day

Wolf Creek - open Friday 11/9 and every day after (not just weekends)

Backcountry - lots of snow, lots of wind = avalanche risk, please make good decisions and check the avalanche forecasts from CAIC.

Thursday

A weak storm will brush by the northeastern corner of Colorado. This storm track will bring a few snow showers to the northern and eastern mountains, though accumulations should be very light. The most noticeable impact from this storm will be temperatures on Thursday as highs will be in the teens to low 20s, or about 5-10 degrees colder than Wednesday.

Friday & Saturday

Sunny, dry, and warmer with highs in the upper 20s to mid-30s.

Extended Forecast

Storm Sunday & Monday

I’m not sure that this will be a significant system, but there is a chance for at least a few inches of snow, favoring the mountains near and east of the divide. Some forecast models show the brunt of the storm staying to our east, though other models (European, Canadian, Japanese) give a storm a more western track which would deliver more snow.

The snowfall map shows lower-end totals, though with chances for deeper snow close to and east of the divide.

And the forecast graphic below, from the University of Utah, shows quite a range of possible snow amounts on Sunday into Monday (this is for the area around Loveland and Arapahoe Basin). Right now we're looking at 0-8 inches. That's a forecast that will be likely to verify! 

While the snowfall on Sunday into Monday is uncertain, the temperature forecast is more certain. On Monday expect potentially the coldest air of the season with high temperatures in the single digits and teens.

Further out

I do not see any significant storms for later next week into the week of Thanksgiving.

This somewhat makes sense because the storms that we’ve seen in October and November have been on a 3-4 week cycle (this relates a storm cycle that moves around the globe called the MJO).

If past trends hold, then we may be in for a drier period during the middle of November, with stormier conditions possible later in the month and into early December.

Remember that forecasts beyond 7-10 days are mostly inaccurate, so I’m only trying to give a general sense of what I’m seeing rather than an absolute 3 week prediction.

Thanks for reading!

My next update will be on Thursday, November 8.

JOEL GRATZ

PS - If you’re coming to my talk in Breckenridge on Friday, please see below as the venue has changed!

Announcements

My upcoming presentations about the winter forecast and tips for chasing pow!

* Thursday, November 8 in Evergreen at Boone Mountain Sports / Evergreen Brewery. Free to attend. Beer and food available for purchase, and the talk starts at 7 pm. Details here.

* Update Location! Friday, November 9 in Breckenridge at the Riverwalk Center. Party, my talk, and a movie. Time from 500-830pm. Please get your free ticket here.

* November 28 in Vail.

* December 5 in Denver.

 

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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

About Our Forecaster

Joel Gratz

Founding Meteorologist

Joel Gratz is the Founding Meteorologist of OpenSnow and has lived in Boulder, Colorado since 2003. Before moving to Colorado, he spent his childhood as a (not very fast) ski racer in eastern Pennsylvania.

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