Summary

Most ski areas received 6-10 new inches of snow from Friday morning through Saturday morning, so it’s a powder day now on Saturday. Woohoo! We should see a few more showers and maybe light accumulation through the day, then the next storm will focus heavy snow over the southern mountains from late Saturday night through Sunday night and Wolf Creek should have a powder day on Sunday. Monday and Tuesday will offer more sun and a few leftover showers, then Wednesday and Thursday will be dry. The next storm will bring snow showers on Friday and a good chance for accumulating snow and another powder day next weekend (May 7-8).

 

Details

It took all day Friday and all night Friday night to achieve the snow totals we were hoping for, but it did happen and I’m thrilled to see that most mountains received 6-10 inches from Friday morning through Saturday morning. Much of this snow fell due to wrap-around flow as the storm moved to our east. The nationwide radar image on Saturday morning clearly shows how this storm is taking moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and wrapping it around, counter-clockwise, back west into Colorado.

Source: WeatherTap.com

 

The snow stake cams from Saturday morning tell the story. How about a little picture tour through the state?!

First, the mountains that are open for skiing this weekend:

Loveland. Official report is 8”.

Source: Loveland

 

Aspen. Highlands is open with an official report of 8”. This snow stake camera is located at Snowmass.

Source: Aspen/Snowmass

 

Winter Park. Official report is 5”.

Source: Winter Park

 

Abasin doesn’t have a snowstake camera and like Loveland are reporting 8” of new snow.

And now the mountains that are unfortunately closed for the season.

Breckenridge. Unofficially 10”.

Source: Breckenridge

 

Monarch. Unofficially 10-15” based on a nearby SNOTEL site.

Source: Monarch

 

Crested Butte. Unofficially 8-9”.

Source: Crested Butte

 

Vail. Unofficially 7”.

Source: Vail

 

Steamboat. Unofficially 6”.

Source: Steamboat

 

For the rest of Saturday, expect snow showers and the northern mountains have the best chance for a few additional inches. The main storm will be slowly moving away from Colorado to the east, bringing the wrap-around moisture with it.

From Saturday late night through Sunday night, another weaker but still important storm will move toward southern Colorado from the southwest. This storm should produce moderate to heavy snow mainly for the southern part of the southern mountains, around Wolf Creek and Purgatory. Look for a powder day at Wolf Creek on Sunday with more snow through the day and about 6-12 inches storm total. Other mountains should see a mix of sun and snow showers.

Monday and Tuesday will also offer a mix of sun and snow showers with just light accumulations, if any.

Finally, on Wednesday and Thursday, we’ll see dry, sunny, and warm weather. It’s been a while!

The calm weather won’t last for long, though, as another powerful storm will likely bring snow back to Colorado starting next Friday afternoon (May 6) and continuing through Sunday May 8 (Mother’s Day). This storm is strong enough that it may produce a powder day (6+ inches) on Saturday and/or Sunday. Stay tuned so you can get your fix of pow before the snow finally shuts off!

JOEL GRATZ

 

PS - I will be giving a talk during the evening of Wednesday, May 4th at the Silverthorne Pavilion in Summit County. This will be a part of the “State of the River” event and should be a great evening covering water and snow information. My talk specifically will revisit the season-long forecast for this past season and look ahead to next season, provide tips on forecasting snow around Summit County, and I’ll also discuss the history of the business side of OpenSnow. Finally, I’ll chat a bit about what we’re up to this summer with a mobile app focused on lightning prediction for hikers. Hope to see you there, and click here for more details: http://opsw.co/stateofriver

 

Geography Key

Northern Mountains
Steamboat, Granby, Beaver Creek, Vail, Ski Cooper, Copper, Breckenridge, Keystone, Loveland, Abasin, Winter Park, Berthoud Pass, Rocky Mountain National Park, Cameron Pass

Along the Divide
Loveland, Abasin, 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, Durango, Wolf Creek (Telluride and Silverton are on the northern side of the southern mountains)