Colorado Daily Snow

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

By Joel Gratz, Founding Meteorologist Posted 6 years ago June 14, 2017

Tornadoes, Hike & Hops, OpenSummit, and the two-week outlook

Update

I hope you’re enjoying summer by hiking, biking, climbing, rafting, kayaking, skiing, BBQing, and whatever else makes you happy during the warmer months!

A few quick updates if you’ll indulge me…

TORNADOES

You may have heard that there was a lot of severe weather (tornadoes, hail, wind) on Monday in northeastern Colorado, southwestern Wyoming, and western Nebraska.

On Monday afternoon, I was scheduled to meet with the team of a new weather company called headsupweather.com, but we made a last-second call to take our meeting to the road and chase the storms. Amazingly, we saw four tornadoes during the afternoon, with one of them staying on the ground for about 15 minutes. Chasing tornadoes is like chasing powder – it doesn’t always work out, but you’ll miss 100% of the days you don’t chase. I believe most or all of the tornadoes touched down in open fields, which meant no or little damage. 

HIKE & HOPS

Join me from 9 am to noon this Saturday, June 17th at the Vail Craft Beer Classic for an event called "Hike & Hops). On the hike, I’ll talk about weather patterns in the Vail area, and others will discuss local ecology and how it relates to brewing beer. Then we’ll head back down the mountain for lunch and beer at the Chophouse. Sounds like a great morning and I’d love to have a few more OpenSnow fans in the group!

On the hike, I’ll talk about weather patterns in the Vail area, and other local experts will discuss how the local plants and environment relate to brewing beer. After the hike, we’ll head back down the mountain for lunch and beer at the Chophouse. Sounds like a great morning and I’d love to have a few more OpenSnow fans in the group!

More info here: https://vailcraftbeerclassic.com/schedule/

To get 15% off, enter the code “joel” in the “Promotional Code” box after you click on the “Tickets” button.

OPENSUMMIT

We have an app that will help you plan 14er hikes!

In the iPhone app store, search “opensummit” and grab the free download.

The app shows the hourly forecast for precipitation, lightning, temperature, and wind speed (which is over 60mph on Wednesday morning in the northern mountains). The two-day forecast is completely free and an optional in-app upgrade will get you this information out to five days.

Direct link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/opensummit-hiking-forecasts/id1145887342?mt=8

After you download and use the app, let me know what you think by emailing me at [email protected]

TWO-WEEK OUTLOOK

One word: Dry.

We might see a few storms now and again, but the balance of time through June 24th should be free of precipitation (use the OpenSummit app if you’re hiking to double check if any storms are possible).

Summer in Colorado is amazing … I hope you’re enjoying every minute of it!

JOEL GRATZ

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.

Free OpenSnow App