Details

Tuesday was a gorgeous, bluebird day with temperatures reaching into the mid to upper 30s at around 10,000 feet.

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday should generally be repeats of Tuesday, though there could be a few more clouds around at times, especially across the northern mountains. Also, temperatures should warm up a few degrees so we will likely see a few days with highs in the 40s.

Our current weather pattern is being dominated by a ridge of high pressure over western North America. Wednesday morning’s infrared satellite image nicely shows this as you can watch the few clouds track north, well up into Canada, and then drop back south into the United States, well north and east of Colorado. This shows the flow up and around the ridge of high pressure.

Source: weathertap.com

 

The ridge should dominate the weather across the west through about February 25th, though we should have at least two chances for snow during this period.

The first chance for snow will focus on the northern mountains and will start on Saturday night and last through Tuesday-ish. It will likely NOT snow during this entire time, but rather the northern mountains should see times of flurries or snow showers that might add up to anything from a dusting to a few inches.

The second chance for snow will start around Thursday February 18th and last through about Saturday February 20th. This second storm will be a little stronger than the first and could bring decent snow to all mountains. However, I do not think that this storm will be the start of a pattern change and will rather just offer a brief break from the dry and sunny weather that will dominate the forecast for the better part of the next 15 days.

Most models still indicate that the ridge will begin to weaken and shift north around February 25th, and this could open the door for more consistent storminess during the last few days of February through early March.

If you’re looking for powder between now and the end of the month, your best bet will be to head north, perhaps to the northern US Rockies, but more likely into Canada as there should be a few good systems next week.

Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great Wednesday. And don’t forget your sunscreen!

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)