Colorado Daily Snow

Heads up, there may be fresher snow! Read the latest Colorado Daily Snow

By Joel Gratz, Founding Meteorologist Posted 8 years ago April 19, 2015

Powder on a Sunday morning

Summary:

  • Abasin tops the list, reporting 8" in the past 24 hrs
  • Most other locations are reporting 3-5"
  • Light accumulations will continue from Sunday through Monday
  • Generally dry on Tuesday & Wednesday, just a few random showers
  • The next storm brings light to moderate snow Thursday into Friday
  • Another storm could bring light to moderate snow Sunday into Monday
  • Perhaps a third storm around May 1st?


Details:

Snow showers fell during the day on Saturday and on Saturday night, thanks to the wrap-around flow of moisture from our departing storm. Interestingly, the band of heavier snow associated with the wrap-around moisture stalled over western Colorado for most of the day on Saturday, then it re-formed just east of the mountains early on Sunday morning, largely skipping many of the mountains in between. Still, most snow reports show that 3-5 inches of fresh snow fell on Saturday and Saturday night, and Abasin is leading the pack with a report of 8 new inches. Enjoy the Sunday morning powder!

The storm that has been with us since Thursday is finally pulling away and is now spinning over western Kansas.

Colorado Snow Forecast - Satellite

 

A zoomed-in view of the infrared satellite animation shows that while the thicker clouds (blue, green colors) that signify heavier precipitation are moving away from our mountains, there are still clouds lingering over western Colorado.

Colorado Snow Forecast - Satellite Zoom to Colorado
Both images courtesy of weathertap.com

 

On Sunday, look for a mix of clouds, sun, and snow showers, with snow showers more likely during the afternoon and evening hours. Accumulations should be light during the day, though any shower could drop a quick inch of snow. A wave of snow showers may bring additional light accumulations on Sunday night, and I can't rule out a few more showers on Monday. 

Tuesday and Wednesday should be mostly dry, though with lingering moisture and a strong April sun, there could be pop-up showers anywhere during these days.

The next storm will be much weaker that our previous storm, but it should still bring light to moderate snow accumulations sometime between Thursday and Friday.

Then after perhaps a drier 24-36 hours from Friday through Saturday, and another storm could bring snow back into the forecast for Sunday into Monday. Neither of these upcoming storms will contain very cold air, and neither looks like it will be very strong. But at the higher-elevation resorts that are still open next week (Abasin, Loveland, Winter Park), these next storms should keep conditions fresh and limit the typical spring-time melting.

Looking far ahead, another storm is possible in about 10-12 days, sometime around May 1st.

In between these upcoming storms, expect temperatures to warm up, as it is late April and the sun is quite high in the sky.

Have a great Sunday, and I'll post again on Monday morning. 

 

JOEL GRATZ


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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, Abasin, Winter Park, Berthoud Pass

East of the Divide
Eldora, Rocky Mountain National Park, Cameron Pass

Central Mountains
Aspen, Sunlight, Monarch, Crested Butte, Irwin, Powderhorn

Southern Mountains
Telluride, Silverton, Durango, Wolf Creek (Telluride and Silverton are on the northern 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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