Wednesday will be warm with highs in the low 40s, along with partly-to-mostly cloudy skies as moisture increases ahead of our next storm. We could also see somewhat stronger winds on exposed ridges and the summit – nothing too extreme, just more noticeable than the lighter winds of the past few days.

From Wednesday night through Thursday early afternoon, while most of the time will be dry, there will be an outside chance for a shower. Due to the warm temperatures ahead of our next storm, if we do see a lighter shower anytime from Wednesday night through Thursday early afternoon, it could fall in the form of raindrops on the lower part of the mountain.

Then on Thursday afternoon and early evening, a batch of intense snow should move through the Vail area. If we are lucky, we will see a quick 2-5 inches in a just a few hours. If we’re unlucky and the most intense batch of showers miss Vail, then we’ll see just a dusting to an inch or two.

Behind this line of showers on Thursday night, cold air will move in and the wind direction will switch to blow from the west and west-northwest, and snow showers should continue through Friday morning.

Pulling this together, if you want to ski powder, your best chance will likely be in Friday morning (if Thursday’s showers start earlier, perhaps you’ll have some powder for last chair on Thursday, but again, I think Friday morning will have a better chance for pow). The snow quality should be reasonable on Friday morning with just enough snow to create softer conditions on north-facing, low-angle runs (most of the front side and Blue Sky Basin). Unless we get closer to double-digit snow totals, the Back Bowls will likely be crunchy under the new snow.

Friday and Saturday will be dry, then the next batch of snow should hit on Saturday night and Sunday with 3-6 inches of accumulation. The best powder will likely be during the day on Sunday, and perhaps on first chair Monday morning if the storm slows down a little bit.

After that, the next chance for snow will be during the middle or end of next week.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for an update each morning!

JOEL GRATZ, Meteorologist at OpenSnow.com