Let’s start with two more reader photos from Thursday’s powderfest.

First, Gary getting the goods in Summit County.

And second, here is 13-year-old Oscar in what his dad said was his first true deep powder day. Get ‘em hooked young!

Weatherwise, Friday morning was another fun day with soft leftovers from Thursday plus 1-4 additional inches on top from showers on Thursday night and Friday morning. Then most areas saw the sun come out on Friday afternoon which quickly warmed temperatures and worked over the snow as April sunshine can do. That’s all good - we still enjoyed cold powder for most of Thursday and the first half of Friday!

On Friday night, we saw a few showers across the state, and we’ll see the same thing on Saturday as a final wave of moisture and energy moves from Utah east across Colorado. For Saturday, expect a mix of clouds, showers (light accumulations), and even a few breaks of sunshine. Temperatures will be a little warmer than Friday, topping out in the mid-20s to near 30F.

The weather on Sunday and Monday will return to full spring conditions with plenty of sunshine, warmer temperatures in the 30s and 40s, and likely some mid-and-high-level clouds filtering the sunshine at times.

Tuesday (April 16) will be mostly dry, though we’ll likely see more clouds move in during the afternoon.

Then look for snow from Tuesday night through Thursday afternoon.

The first shot of snow on Tuesday night and Wednesday should produce a low-end powder day on Wednesday with 4-8 inches of accumulation. This is about the lowest amount of snow that we need to cover the hard base from the previous few days of melt/freeze conditions and make the off-groomer turns feel reasonable.

Then on Wednesday night and Thursday, a second wave of energy and colder air should keep the snow going, producing an additional 4-8 inches of accumulation.

It’s this second wave on Wednesday night and Thursday that makes me think that Thursday morning will offer the best powder. Total accumulations of 8-16 inches will be enough to adequately cover the hard base. The early part of the storm should bring thicker, wetter snow, and then the snow on Wednesday night and Thursday should be fluffier. Just what we want to see.

An early look at the accumulation forecast shows a swath of 6-12+ inches across a lot of the state, favoring the northern and northeast mountains.

The University of Utah multi-model forecast for Loveland Pass (generally representative of the northern mountains) shows accumulations between 7-16 inches.

So, most models agree that we’ll see significant snow on Wednesday and Thursday and that Thursday will be the deepest and softest day.

Temperatures will be plenty cold enough for good-quality powder, though they’ll be 3-6 degrees warmer than the storm this past week, so the upcoming powder may not be quite as fluffy.

Following next week’s storm, we should see dry weather from Friday 4/19 to Sunday 4/21 and then another (maybe weaker) storm could arrive in Colorado around April 22 or April 23.

Thanks for reading!

My next update will be on Sunday morning.

JOEL GRATZ

Bluebird Backcountry – another event!
Ever wanted to try backcountry skiing? Don't know where to start? Our friends over at Bluebird Backcountry have an awesome idea to open a backcountry ski area. Following a successful "first flight" at Mosquito Pass last month, Bluebird is now partnered with Winter Park Resort to offer "in-bounds backcountry" designed for learning and adventure. Take the Bluebird survey and sign up for a day of skiing at bluebirdbackcountry.com

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