Summary

Snow showers will fall throughout the high country by Thursday evening and remain in place through Friday. There could be a few leftover showers through Friday evening but mostly clear skies will prevail by Saturday morning. Typical afternoon and early evening thunderstorm activity will then be the main culprit through the rest of Memorial Day weekend and into early June. 

Details

The month of May is quickly coming to an end as we approach the unofficial start of summer over Memorial Day weekend. Even though Memorial Day is upon us, the high country will once again get a nice refresh of snow to kick off the weekend. 

Widespread precipitation will fall along the Front Range starting on Thursday afternoon. This is due to a system that will slide across southern Colorado on Thursday night and into Friday. By Thursday evening, snow will begin to fall in the high country and drop to as low as 9,000 feet on Thursday night. This will make the road surfaces along the highest elevations of I-70 and the mountain passes wet, icy, and partially snow-packed under the heaviest showers over the course of Thursday night. In total, the highest elevations are looking at 4-8 inches through Friday evening. The best accumulations will likely stay south of the I-70 corridor but this will be a great refresher for late May nonetheless. 

Arapahoe Basin is the only remaining open resort along the I-70 corridor so if you are still searching for soft lift-served turns on Friday morning, cruise up to the legend but remember to check CDOT for the latest road information. The high May sun angle will quickly melt the road surfaces so there should be little, if any, impact on travel speeds by late Friday morning. 

There will be a few stray showers through early Friday evening but the skies will quickly clear on Friday night.  For the rest of Memorial Day weekend, temperatures will rise into the upper 40s throughout the higher terrain and into the upper 50s to low 60s on the valley floors and in towns such as Frasor, Frisco, Breckenridge, and Vail. There will continue to be the chance for afternoon and early evening thunderstorms so make your outdoor plans accordingly. 

The longest days of the year will then be upon us as we head into June. This is one of my favorite times of the year because the days are long, there's still high alpine skiing available, and you can also enjoy the plethora of other outdoor activities. Arapahoe Basin will be spinning their lifts 7 days a week through at least Sunday, June 5th. As long as the temperatures don't get too warm over the next few weeks, I see no reason why they won't stay open well into late June. 

Thanks for reading and have a great Memorial Day weekend!

SAM COLLENTINE

P.S. Aspen Mountain will also be offering bonus skiing and riding over Memorial Day weekend from 9am - 2pm, with 120 acres of terrain available. More details available here: http://opsw.co/1XVhT1s