Colorado Daily Snow

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By Joel Gratz, Founding Meteorologist Posted 6 years ago March 19, 2018

Monday morning powder

Summary

Average snow reports on Monday morning are in the 4-8 inch range with some outliers below and above (looks like 10+ inches at Telluride, Grand Mesa, Steamboat, Winter Park). We should see a few more inches of snow on Monday morning, then mostly dry weather through Wednesday with a few snow showers in the north. The next storms will bring snow from later Thursday through later Friday and it will be warm with high snow levels. Another round or two of snow could fall over the weekend and early next week.

Short Term Forecast

The snow arrived on Sunday midday and afternoon and these are the following totals I can see as of 400am on Monday morning.

Steamboat - 12”
Winter Park - 11”
Cameron Pass - 10-15”
Grand Mesa - 10”
Telluride / Silverton - 10”
Jones Pass - 8”
Wolf Creek - 7”
Beaver Creek - 6”
Sunlight - 6”
Purgatory - 5”
Vail - 5”
Arapahoe Basin - 4”
Breckenridge - 4”
Copper - 4”
Loveland - 4”
Keystone - 3”
Aspen - 2”

My big surprise was Steamboat. I did not think that Steamboat would see this much as snow as wind from the northwest was forecast for that area, but the actual observation from the top of the mountain shows a wind from the west, which is the best direction for Steamboat.

I was also surprised that the northwest flow didn't bring more snow to some of the I-70 mountains, though Winter Park again looks like the winner for the I-70 region with 11" as of about 400 am.

We should see a few more hours of light snow during Monday morning, then the precipitation will become more showery and scattered on Monday afternoon.

Tuesday and Wednesday should be mostly dry for most mountains, though light snow showers could hit the northern mountains at times.

Extended Forecast

I have higher confidence in precipitation hitting all mountains from later Thursday through later Friday, and that this storm will bring a lot of moisture and be very warm. Snow levels could be 8,000-9,000 feet, which means the chance for rain at the base of many mountains and 6+ inches of snow at the higher elevations.

I have lower confidence in what happens after Friday night. We should see colder air and multiple additional chances for snow through the weekend and early next week, but there is no consensus about the timing of these systems, so we'll have to wait at least a few more days before talking about the details.

Thanks for reading!

JOEL GRATZ

Announcements

Local Fundraiser

A reader sent me the following announcement about a fundraiser event to be held at Arapaho Ranch, near Nederland on Saturday, March 31 from 1200 pm to 600 pm. There'll be a race with prizes (both adults and kids), a raffle and all the proceeds going to the CAIC, in honor of their friend Joe who passed away in an avalanche outside the ski area boundary. See information on past events here: http://opsw.co/2FTmnB1

Powderhorn Mission Affordable

Skiing is expensive, so it’s nice to see that there are some deals to be had. Powderhorn just released pricing for next season’s pass (which also works for the rest of this season). Details here: http://opsw.co/2FPVLAY

Child Pass (5 & under), $29
Junior Pass (6-12), $149
Young Adult Pass (13-29), $259
Adult Pass (30-74), $259
Senior Pass (75+), $89

Eagle Point, Utah

Evan, our Utah forecaster, mentioned this week that Eagle Point in Utah, which couldn’t open for a lot of this season due to low snow, is offering their current pass holders a free pass for next season. Awesome! Details here: http://opsw.co/2HJaRc5

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, Arapahoe Basin, 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

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.

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