Colorado Daily Snow

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

By Joel Gratz, Founding Meteorologist Posted 11 years ago February 22, 2013

Hi folks ... quick update tonight.

Today was a pretty good day around Colorado. Even resorts that reported only a few inches (Vail, Beaver Creek, Copper) skied far deeper at the higher parts of the mountain and I measured 6-7" in the bowls at Vail at 8:45am with a few more inches during the day. If you were at Monarch or Wolf Creek or Telluride, let us know how it was in the comments below. Or in other words, make us jealous!

Moist northwest flow kept the snow showers going today, though we'll lose a bit of energy tonight so I think the snow showers will be spottier. That said, if we can get a few more inches tonight, Friday morning will be another great time to be on the hill because a few inches on top of today's snow will ski very well.

Another weak wave of energy moves through on Friday which should keep some clouds and snow showers going, potentially harder in the midday and afternoon hours.

By Friday night into Saturday morning, the snow will let up for most areas, but some locations along I-70 and north might see some snow continue as moisture streams into Colorado ahead of Saturday night's storm.

The most important aspect of the snow from today through Saturday morning is that it will be somewhat consistent and should soften the bases. For areas that saw a ton of snow, the base isn't that big of a deal. But for areas that saw just a few inches today, you could still feel the crunchy base underneath. After a few days of snow, cool air, and clouds, the base should soften and be in prime shape for the Saturday night snow.

Speaking of which, the Saturday night storm is still on track. The American GFS, NAM, and UK models all show the storm moving somewhat directly through Colorado, though the European still shows the storm dropping further south. Telluride and Powderhorn  would likely do great in either scenario, but areas from Aspen up to I-70 and Steamboat would do best if the storm does NOT drop too far south.

Regardless of the exact track of the storm, a strong cold front will create a very heavy band of snow for all areas. This will arrive sometime between about 4-8pm on Saturday ... I'll try to nail down this timing over the coming day. When this snow band moves through, you'll know it. Strong winds. Heavy snow. Tough to drive. Behind this band, the snow will lighten for the lower elevations, but on the mountains where we ski and ride the snow should continue with moist northwest flow through the night and through most of Sunday. 

I'll be tweaking the snow forecast as the models try to come to an agreement on the track of the storm. But it almost doesn't matter whether it's 6 inches or 12 inches - Sunday will still be a great day to be on the hill with a soft base underneath and fresh snow falling after close on Saturday.

More in the morning...if you were out today, leave comments below. Thanks!

JOEL GRATZ

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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