Summary

Sunday was another great late-season powder day across the state with about 6 inches falling at Wolf Creek and smooth powder in the central and northern mountains as well. Most of this upcoming week will be dry and sunny, then we’ll see a few late-week showers with a decent chance of accumulating snow and perhaps a powder day next weekend.

 

Details

From this past Friday through Sunday, most mountains picked up 10-16 inches of snow. Loveland’s three-day total was 16 inches, and that’s the highest report I can find. Some of my favorite powder days have occurred right around the beginning of May, and this year the late season delivered once again.

Now on Monday morning the clouds have cleared across most of the state. Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park is showing nicely in the morning sun.

Source: National Park Service

 

Following this storm cycle, snowpack across the state is once again above average (thick blue line).

Source: USDA

 

The snowpack will begin rapid a melt-out this week, though, as temperatures will warm up through about Friday. There could be a few snow showers on Monday and then a few rain or snow showers on Thursday and Friday, but for the most part we’ll be free of steady precipitation through Friday.

Our next storm will slowly move near  or over Colorado on Saturday, Sunday, and next Monday, and depending on its exact track it may bring enough snow for a powder day at Abasin or Loveland on Mother’s Day, May 8. I have low confidence in the details of the next storm, so we’ll have to wait for a few more days until we can figure out the specifics.

I’ll write another short update on Tuesday morning.

Thanks for reading!

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)