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 October 18, 2018

Southern snow now, dry this weekend

Summary

Thursday will bring additional light snow showers to higher elevations, then Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will be dry and mostly sunny (three mountains will be running lifts this weekend). Next week, we should see a few more showers with light accumulations on Monday and Tuesday, then we’ll have a higher chance for snow later in the week, between next Thursday and next Saturday (October 25-27).

Short Term Forecast

A storm has been spinning and nearly stationary over the four corners during the middle of this week, and snow showers have moved through the southern mountains between Tuesday night and Thursday morning.

Snow totals are hard to discern since no resorts are officially reporting snow this week (they are not open). Here’s what I gathered based on snow stake cameras and automated SNOTEL weather stations.

Beartown SNOTEL - 5” (10 miles SE of Silverton)

Columbus Basin SNOTEL - 4” (15 miles SW of Purgatory)

Purgatory - 3” (snow stake camera)

Telluride - 3” (snow stake camera)

On Thursday this slow-moving storm will continue to spin near Colorado, so expect clouds and a few snow showers, especially from midday through late Thursday evening. Any mountain in the state could see a few showers and light accumulations on the upper elevations.

The snow forecast map from Thursday through Sunday shows the potential for light snow over Colorado and eastern Utah (which will fall on Thursday) as well as snow showers over the northeast this weekend.

Then Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will be dry and sunny as the coldest air moves to the northeastern United States.

Arapahoe Basin will open for daily operations on Friday.

Loveland will open for daily operations on Saturday.

And Wolf Creek will re-open on Saturday for weekends only.

On Monday and Tuesday another slow-moving storm will spin near southwestern Colorado, so we will likely see more clouds, a few showers, and perhaps a few inches of snow on these days.

Next Wednesday should be dry after the slow-moving storm over the southwest moves away.

Extended Forecast

All models are now on the bandwagon with a forecast for one or two storms late next week and/or next weekend, roughly between Thursday, October 25 and Saturday, October 27.

The map below shows the snow forecast from one model during these three days late next week. Since it’s just one version of one model’s forecast, don’t take it literally, just note that it’s likely that we will see snow and colder air later next week.

As we head toward Halloween and the first few days of November, some models are still hinting at a cooler and stormy pattern while others show the coldest air and the most action staying to our east. I’ll keep watching.

Thanks for reading … next update on Friday, October 19.

JOEL GRATZ

Announcements

My upcoming presentations about the winter forecast and tips for chasing pow!

* October 18 in Colorado Springs at Ute & Yeti starting at 630pm. Beer & food available for purchase. Free to attend! Details here.

* October 25 in Golden at Powder7 Ski Shop starting at 630pm. Free to attend! Details here.

* New! October 30 in Nederland at Salto Coffee Works starting at 630pm. Beer and food available for purchase. Free to attend!

* November 1 in Boulder at Neptune Mountaineering starting at 600pm. Free to attend! There will be happy hour, my talk, the short film “Abandoned” about lost ski areas, and a raffle with REALLY good prizes. Details here.

* Early November in Summit County

* November 28 in Vail

* December 5 in Denver

 

OpenSummit

We have an iPhone app that provides detailed weather forecasts for your hiking, biking, and climbing adventures. OpenSummit now includes forecasts for 1,000 of the highest and/or notable summits and hiking areas across the United States. Download OpenSummit (iPhone only)

 

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.

Free OpenSnow App