Friday should be gorgeous with few or no clouds and afternoon temperatures rising into the upper 40s. Saturday should also bring glorious weather during the first half of the day, though we might see more clouds and a shower during the afternoon and evening.

The next storm should bring more clouds on Sunday with showers possible from Sunday midday all the way through Tuesday. This storm will be weak, and it will also be warm, so my expectations for big snowfall are quite low.

The best chance for stronger showers and 6+ inches of snow will be near and east of the continental divide, around the Indian Peaks, Berthoud Pass, Mary Jane (Winter Park closes on Sunday), Loveland, Arapahoe Basin, and maybe Breckenridge. Models show spotty yet possibly intense showers during these 48 hours, so much of the time could be dry, and then there might be a period of heavy snow.

The University of Utah multi-model ensemble for Loveland Pass, below, is forecasting 0-25 inches. There is a near 100% chance that the actual snow total will fall within this range:-). The large spread in the forecast is a warning sign to not have high expectations for this storm.

If we’re lucky, MAYBE Monday or Tuesday could offer some powder above 10,000 feet. We’ll see if models can figure out this system over the next day or two, or if we’ll be left with a lot of uncertainty through the storm.

I do not see any cold storms in our foreseeable future. I am sure we’ll see more snow through the end of April and into early May, I just don’t see a storm in the long-range forecast that makes me excited at the chance for a truly cold, powder day.

Thanks for reading!

My next update will be on Saturday morning.

JOEL GRATZ

Bluebird Backcountry – another event!
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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