That was quite an October! Multiple storms brought a lot of snow to the northern half of Colorado, and the deepest snowpack is in the far northern mountains around Steamboat.

Thanks to reader Brent Zimmerman who sent me this picture of Steamboat, taken from a commercial flight between Salt Lake City and Denver. It looks like mid-winter after the mountain received over five feet of snow during October.

Below is a quick update about where you can find lift-serviced skiing through this weekend.

Open Every Day:
* Arapahoe Basin
* Eldora
* Keystone
* Loveland
* Winter Park (starting Saturday, Nov 2)

Open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
* Monarch
* Wolf Creek

Weatherwise, Friday will be sunny for the southern 2/3rds of Colorado with clouds covering the northern 1/3rd of the state. The infrared satellite image on Friday morning shows the clouds, and for reference, I pointed out the larger cities on the front range.

The storm track will be just north of Colorado for the next 1-2 weeks, and at times, the storm track will slip to the south which will bring clouds and maybe a few flurries to the northern mountains. The best chance for these clouds and flurries will be around Friday, Nov 1, Monday, Nov 4, and maybe Thursday, Nov 7.

The two-week outlook is consistent among most models.

The general storm track (pink line) will be close but just to the north of Colorado. Most of the snow will fall in western Canada, some in Montana, and the Upper Midwest and Northeast will be cool with snow over the higher elevations and some lake effect snow as well.

Of course, this forecast is a bummer for us in Colorado as I (we) want it to snow all the time.

For perspective, a lot of the snow that fell in October should stick around north-facing slopes, and also, snowfall in October and November tells us just about nothing regarding how much snow we’ll see during the rest of the season. October’s big snow totals don’t guarantee a big season, and the lack of snow for the first two weeks of November doesn't guarantee a low-snow year. Temperatures for the next two weeks will be cool enough for nighttime snowmaking to continue at most high-elevation mountains, so a limited amount of additional terrain will likely continue to open.

I’ll keep watching all forecast models and will let you know when I see the next chance of a significant storm.

Thanks for reading!

My next update will be on Saturday 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.

* 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