One storm is in the books, the next storm will arrive soon, and there are two more storms possible before we close out October. Let’s get to it!

Recap: Friday’s Storm

This system had a lot of moisture but weak energy and warm temperatures. We were thinking a snowfall range of 1-5 inches would cover most mountains and that there could be an upside surprise somewhere due to the high amount of moisture.

That’s about what happened, and here are the snow totals that I could find (most ski areas are not reporting snow totals yet).

Aspen Highlands: 6-9”
Aspen Mountain: 5-7”
Snowmass: 5-6”
Breckenridge: 5”
Beaver Creek: 5”
Steamboat: 3-5”
Vail: 4”
Wolf Creek: 2-3”
Arapahoe Basin: 2”
Buttermilk: 2”
Keystone: 2”
Loveland: 2”
Telluride: 2”
Winter Park: 2”

The Aspen area won this storm with on-mountain automated sensors showing totals above 5 inches. Otherwise, most mountains were in the 2-5 inch range.

While temperatures cooled enough for snow to fall on the mountains, most valleys remained snow-free due to the warm temperatures.

You can see the drier valleys in this image from the summit of Beaver Creek.

While the highest elevations, like the summit of Wolf Creek, were all covered in white.

Following Friday’s storm, temperatures on Saturday morning are about 15-20 degrees cooler compared to the same time on Friday. It feels good.

Sunday’s Storm

The next storm will be stronger than Friday’s event, though moisture will be lacking. The combination of more energy and less moisture compared to the Friday storm should result in somewhat higher snow totals for the northern mountains.

For timing, expect snow to begin around midnight Saturday night, fall heavily for a time on Saturday night, and then become showery on Sunday with flakes continuing to fall into Monday and even Tuesday.

The northern mountains should measure 5-10 inches with lower totals into the central and southern mountains.

The forecast from the CAIC WRF 2km model looks reasonable.

Sunday morning should offer a little powder to enjoy at Arapahoe Basin or Keystone (the two open resorts) or at whatever grassy surface that you want to slide down.

Speaking of the northern mountains, even though most accumulating snow will be over by later on Monday, clouds and snow flurries could continue through Tuesday and maybe even Wednesday.

The general storm track will push to the east of Colorado during the final 10 days of October, but the latest models show that Colorado should still see periods of cold air and snow as storms brush by the eastern part of our state.

The first storm should bring cold air and snow on Thursday, October 24th. The best chance for a few inches of snow and cold air will be near and east of the continental divide and in the Denver metro area, though if we’re lucky the storm will push far enough west to bring colder air and a little snow to all ski areas.

Then a second storm around Sunday, October 27th or Monday, October 28th could follow the same track as the Thursday storm, though the latest European model shows that the Sunday system could move much farther to the west and bring us a significant storm during the final few days of October. Something to watch for.

Thanks so much for reading! I’ll write a new post on Sunday morning.

JOEL GRATZ

Upcoming talks

These talks usually range from 30-45 minutes and allow me to show a little of the science behind snow forecasting, have some fun, and answer lots of questions. I’ll post details about each talk soon.

Boulder: Oct 24 @ Neptune Mountaineering

* Last year was SUPER fun. Let’s do it again!
* 6-7pm happy hour, 7-8pm talk & raffle, 8pm movie
* More details & buy tickets for $10
* Proceeds from the door prize tickets and beer sales go to CAIC

Details coming soon

* Golden: Oct 30 @ Powder7
* Frisco: Nov 8 @ Highside Brewery
* Nederland: Nov 12 @ Salto Coffee / Tin Shed Sports
* Denver: Nov 14 @ Denver Athletic Club
* Evergreen: Nov 21 @ Boone Mountain Sports
* Breckenridge: Dec 6 @ Colorado Mountain College Breckenridge
* Basalt: Dec 12 @ Bristlecone Mountain Sports

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

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