Sunday was snowy and cloudy for areas east of the continental divide and in far northern Colorado, though most mountains saw sunshine for a lot of the day. At Loveland, which is on the continental divide, their base area was in the clouds but the summit was above the clouds. This image is from the summit looking east.

On Sunday night, the storm moved across Colorado, and as we expected, narrow bands of intense snow formed over many areas. The images below are from the app Radarscope and show a thick band of intense snow over western Colorado with narrow bands of moderate snow over northeastern Colorado. I marked some of the bands with a pink line.

My expectation for snowfall on Sunday and Sunday night was 3-10 inches on average with up to 10-15 inches for the favored area near and east of the divide and near and north of I-70.

The reality was that all mountains were in the 2-7 inch range and the only double-digit report might be a remote front-range area near the divide and near I-70 (still checking on that). It’s fine that most mountains were in the range we spoke about, but I am disappointed that we didn’t see any higher-end totals. The cause for the only average snowfall might be that the main band of precipitation moved pretty quickly so we only had six-ish hours of moderate to intense snowfall.

Snow totals from Sunday morning to Monday morning:
Breckenridge: 7”
Eldora: 6”
Keystone: 6”
Rocky Mountain National Park: 6”
Steamboat: 6”
Berthoud Pass: 5”
Cameron Pass: 5”
Loveland: 5”
Vail: 5”
Winter Park: 5”
Arapahoe Basin: 4”
Beaver Creek: 4”
Loveland: 4”
Aspen Mountain: 3”
Monarch: 3”
Snowmass: 2”
Telluride: 2”

Now on Monday morning, the storm is pulling away from Colorado to the east, and the remaining snowfall over the southern and eastern mountains should finish up in the morning or by midday at the latest.

Following dry weather here in Colorado on Monday afternoon, the next system will bring snow from Monday night through Wednesday evening. This next storm is already evident over Montana on the radar image above.

Snow amounts during the upcoming part of the storm should be in the 2-6 inch range between Monday night and Wednesday night. This part of the storm will be cold, so snow quality will be fluffy, and that may allow us to see some 6-inch totals in the central and northern mountains. However, the storm will bring VERY cold air from Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday, and the lack of moisture in this cold airmass should limit snow totals.

If you’re heading out to ride on Tuesday or Wednesday, expect good conditions thanks to the new snow and cold temperatures, and dress very warmly. High temperatures on Tuesday will be in the teens, then we might only see single digits on Wednesday, with morning lows on Wednesday morning and Thursday morning near or below 0F.

After the cold start on Thursday morning, the rest of Thursday will bring sunshine and warming temperatures that will rise into the 20s for most mountains.

The weather pattern from Thursday (Halloween) through the first half of next week will keep Colorado mostly dry. Storms sliding by to our north might drape a few clouds, flurries, and a bit of cooler air over the far northern mountains, but otherwise, our weather will be calm. Temperatures should be cold enough at night for more snowmaking.

The next chance for a storm still seems to be around Thursday, November 7th, though right now no models are showing this as a significant system. I’ll keep you posted.

Thanks for reading!

My next update will be on Tuesday morning.

JOEL GRATZ

Upcoming talks

These talks are usually 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 as they are available.

* Golden: Oct 30 @ Powder7 from 730-930pm. Details here.
* Frisco: Nov 8 @ Highside Brewery
* Nederland: Nov 12 @ Salto Coffee / Tin Shed Sports
* Denver: Nov 14 @ Denver Athletic Club
* Wheat Ridge: Nov 19 @ Downriver Equipment
* 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