Summary
Colorado saw mid-October weekend with at least a few inches of snow at most mountains near and above 10,000 feet. Monday, Tuesday, and much of Wednesday will be drier, then the next storm will bring a shot of snow on Wednesday night and Thursday, likely dropping 3-6+ inches near and above 10,000 feet.
Short Term Forecast
It's starting to look like winter in the mountains!
Most of this snow will melt before cooler temperatures become more consistent in a few weeks, but it's still nice to look at...
From Friday through Sunday, most mountains received 2-6 inches near and above 10,000 feet, with flakes falling down to about 9,000 feet.
Now on Monday, the storm is still spinning close by, but as the storm pulls away, we will not see much precipitation on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday.
As the storm moves to our east, some lingering energy on the backside of the storm will spin up a new storm to our southwest, and this new storm will bring snow later this week.
Storm #4
I believe that the next storm, arriving later this week, is actually our fourth storm of the season. I think I made a mistake with the numbers in the past few posts. Sorry!
So, Storm #4 will spin up to our southwest and push a shot of rain and now across Colorado later this week.
The precipitation will start on Wednesday late afternoon in the southern mountains and push across all of Colorado on Wednesday night and Thursday.
The brunt of the precipitation will fall over the eastern 2/3rds of Colorado and into the southern Plains.
In terms of snowfall, yup, the Colorado mountains will get some!
The best chance for the deepest snow will likely be above 10,000 feet in the southern mountains. The University of Utah ensemble forecast, which shows the range of forecasts from the Canadian and American models, depicts a ramp up in snow on Wednesday night, accumulating to 6-8 inches with a range of about 2-12 inches.
Bottom line – expect more snow Wednesday evening through Thursday, mostly above 10,000 feet, accumulating to at least a few inches, and perhaps 6 inches or more on the higher end.
Extended Forecast
Following Storm #4 on Wednesday and Thursday, we might get a brief break on Friday into Saturday with only a few showers.
Then Storm #5 will bring rain and snow showers on Sunday, October 1st.
After that storm, I do think we'll see at least a few warm and dry days early next week, roughly October 2-4.
And then the longer range models bring back an active pattern over the west with storms through mid-October.
Let's hope this active pattern continues right into November and December:-)
I'll be back with another update on Wednesday 9/27, and in the meantime, I am looking forward to meeting some of you front rangers in person in Denver and Boulder this week ... see below!
JOEL GRATZ
Announcements
Parties in Denver & Boulder
Join me in Denver and Boulder this week to have a bite, grab a drink, and talk about cat & heli-skiing. The goal for the night is to share a bunch of knowledge about how to pick a great cat or heli trip in Colorado, British Columbia, or Alaska. See more info and RSVP on our event pages:
Denver, Tue, Sep 26
https://www.facebook.com/events/130993727539813/
Boulder, Thu, Sep 28
https://www.facebook.com/events/2043562782529422/
Geography Key
Northern Mountains
Steamboat, Granby, Beaver Creek, Vail, Ski Cooper, Copper, Breckenridge, Keystone, Loveland, Abasin, Winter Park, Berthoud Pass, Eldora, 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 – north side of the southern mountains | Purgatory, Wolf Creek – south side of the southern mountains
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