Update at 12-noon on Wednesday:

Well, today is one of those days that we dream about. A surprisingly large amount of snow is accumulating, far more than I forecasted.

It looks like Abasin, Loveland Keystone, Winter Park, and Berthoud Pass have at least 6 inches since this morning with perhaps 2 inches falling before the sun came up. Vail, Breckenridge, Copper, and Beaver Creek seem to have about 4-6 inches. And Eldora just reported 12 inches, though I think that also includes snow that fell on Tuesday, so maybe 6ish inches since this morning.

All of these areas getting snow are generally within 50 miles of I-70. Further north and south there have been snow showers but accumulations have only been about 1 inch.

So what's happening today along I-70 to make our snowy dreams come true?

• The jet stream is overhead, adding some energy
• There is adequate moisture at the surface 
• Temperatures are at a good level for dendrite snow crystals to form
• And most importantly...
• There is a boundary near I-70 separating cold air north and warmer air south

This boundary acts as a focusing mechanism to force air to rise and create snow.

All of the models predicted that these factors would come together to create some snow showers west of the divide and perhaps a few inches along and east of the divide. But none of the models figured out that these factors would come together in such a perfect way to create a nearly stationary band of heavy snowfall.

Atmosphere = 1
Models/Joel = 0

It's awesome to have unexpected snowfall at this time of year, especially with a mostly dry first 10 days of November. But it would be nice if this were mid season and more terrain was open...

Let it snow!

JOEL

PS - to see my post from this morning, and other previous posts, click the orange box below.