Snow began on Saturday evening and the first part of the storm through midday Sunday has targeted the mountains and foothills east of the divide.

The radar animation from Sunday at 1100am shows the snow over the eastern half of Colorado.

As of Sunday midday, the deepest snow reports are:

Foothills west of Boulder: 10”

Rocky Mountain National Park: 6-8”

Eldora: 4” at 600 am, likely 6”+ midday Sunday

Here is a look at the base of Eldora on Sunday at 1100 am. Hello, winter!

Sunday afternoon and Sunday night

East of the divide, where the most intense snow is falling now on midday Sunday, expect an additional 2-5+ inches for totals that could hit double digits.

Going into this storm, some models hinted at snow totals that could get to double digits but I was skeptical due to the low amount of forecasted moisture in the atmosphere. It appears that the cold temperature and high snow-to-liquid ratio (15-to-1 to 20-to-1) are making up for the lower-end moisture and there could be widespread double-digit totals east of the divide.

Eldora will likely ski very well on Sunday afternoon and on Monday morning!

Near and west of the divide, Sunday morning started with more clear skies than clouds, but we’re now seeing snow showers developing as the storm moves over Colorado. Expect snow showers through the afternoon and Sunday night with 1-4 inches of accumulation. The track of this storm is not favorable for big snowfall near and west of the divide, but there should be enough moisture and instability to create snow showers and some accumulations.

Monday

The morning will be cold with temperatures near 0F and readings will only warm into the teens for highs. Lingering clouds in the morning should clear by the midday and afternoon hours.

The rest of this week and the first half of Thanksgiving week has a very high probability of being dry. It’s not usual to see 7-10 day dry spells during a Colorado winter, so don’t fret.

Most longer-range models indicate a stormier pattern setting up over the western US starting around or just after Thanksgiving and continuing into early December. There is no sense in us speculating about the details of storms 10-15 days out, but at least the trend in the models is for cooler and stormy weather to return.

In the meantime, our snowpack is healthy and more resorts will be opening this week and next, so there is plenty of skiing and riding to enjoy this early season even if the snow shuts off for the next 7-10 days.

Thanks for reading!

My next update will be on Monday, November 12.

JOEL GRATZ

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

 

* November 28 in Vail at Walking Mountains Science Center. Free to attend. The talk starts at 630pm. Please RSVP here.

* December 5 in Denver.

 

OpenSummit

We have an iPhone app that provides detailed weather forecasts for your hiking, biking, and climbing adventures. OpenSummit now includes forecasts for 1,000 of the highest and/or notable summits and hiking areas across the United States. Download OpenSummit (iPhone only)

 

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