Colorado Daily Snow

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

By Joel Gratz, Founding Meteorologist Posted 5 years ago April 23, 2018

Wrapping up the 2017-2018 season

Update

Forecast

On Monday (April 23), we’ll see afternoon showers across the northern 2/3rds of Colorado, then these showers should continue on Monday night, with the snow limited to areas near and east of the divide on Tuesday morning. We could see a few inches at the higher elevations and just east of the divide.

The next chance for a bit of snow will be on Thursday (April 26) as another cold front slides over eastern Colorado. Perhaps a dusting to an inch or two near and east of the divide.

After that, a slow-moving storm will likely cross the Rockies between about April 30 to May 3. If the storm happens to track directly over Colorado, many mountains could see significant snow. But the more likely scenario is for the storm to track north/south/east/west of Colorado and only give us a glancing blow with limited cold air and limited snow.

Further into May, I do not see signs of an extended cold and snowy period, though will keep watching.

Snowpack

Colorado’s statewide snowpack peaked around April 10th (which is the average time for peak), and now on April 22nd, here is where our snowpack stands.

As has been the case for most of the season, the northern mountains saw the most snow while the southern mountains saw the least. This trend was similar across the western US as the northern Rockies had the deepest snowpack (compared to average) for most of the season.

Gorgeous

I have been holding on to this picture for about a month, not sure exactly when to post it. Now seems like a great time. Snowstorms create powder days, which is what we all love. But snowstorms are simply gorgeous in their own right. This picture, from Crested Butte, during mid-March, shows a snow squall moving into the area.

OpenSummit

Since most of us hike, bike, climb, etc in the spring, summer, and fall, we are working to bring you weather information for those sports as well. Check out the OpenSummit app, available now for iPhone (Android later this summer), which provides hourly weather forecasts for Colorado’s 14ers. We’ll be adding more data and more trails soon. More info & download: https://opensummit.com/

Thank you!

Thanks for reading the Colorado Daily Snow and for your support this season – it means so much to myself, my family, and the entire OpenSnow team! Also, keep your eye out later this summer because we’ll be launching a completely redesigned OpenSnow website and mobile app, with more data and features, and I think you’ll love them:-)

JOEL GRATZ

(this will be my final daily post of the season, though I will write another update if another big storm heads toward Colorado)

Announcements

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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