Colorado Daily Snow
By Joel Gratz, Founding Meteorologist Posted 4 years ago November 6, 2019
More snowy pictures, but no new snow in sight
Summary
Another day, and still no change in the forecast. We’ll likely see mostly dry weather through about November 20th. After that, it’s too far out to say if and when the weather pattern will change. For now, we’ll enjoy the sunshine and temperatures in the 30s during the day with continuing snowmaking at night.
Short Term Forecast
Since there’s no change in the forecast for dry and sunny weather, let’s again start with pictures of existing snow.
This was Monarch’s first day of the season on Friday, November 1st. Monarch will also be open this Friday through Sunday.
Below is a view of Snowmass, and thanks to Ben Taber (photographer and our newest employee!) for labeling a few of the other notable mountains.
The snowpack across the state is still above average, but there will be no new snow this week.
If you enjoy lift-accessed skiing, below is the current resort status across the state.
Open Every Day:
* Arapahoe Basin
* Eldora
* Keystone
* Loveland
* Winter Park
Upcoming Openings
* Breckenridge (starting Fri, Nov 8 and every day after)
* Copper (starting Fri, Nov 8 and every day after)
* Monarch (re-opening Fri, Nov 8 – Sun, Nov 10)
* Wolf Creek (re-opening Sat, Nov 9 – Sun, Nov 10)
For the rest of the week, enjoy comfortable daytime high temperatures in the 30s, and then nighttime temperatures will dip into the upper teens to low 20s which will allow snowmaking to continue.
Extended Forecast
Weather forecast models have pretty good skill predicting the possibility of individual storms out to about 5-7 days, and there is sometimes reasonable skill forecasting the general weather pattern out to 10-15 days.
Unfortunately, even looking out 15 days from now, all models show that the general storm track will stay to the north and east of us, and therefore, the snow will (probably) stay to the north and east of us as well.
The only chance for snow here in Colorado will be around Sunday, Nov 10 – Monday, Nov 11 with light snow in the northern mountains, maybe a chance for another side-swiping system around Thursday, Nov 14, and then maybe something around Monday, Nov 18. None of these storms show any indication that they will bring significant snow. Of course the forecast can change, but for now, my expectations are very low.
I will repeat the following disclaimer through the next week or two in case this is someone’s first visit to the Colorado Daily Snow and it seems like things are doom and gloom.
* The snowfall we had in October was well above average, some mountains are open, and more will be open soon.
* If we can get a few significant storms in late November through early December, terrain options will quickly expand.
* Neither a snowy October or a dry November tells us anything about how much snow we’ll see from December through April. We'll take each storm as it comes and enjoy the ride.
Thanks for reading!
My next update will be on Thursday morning.
JOEL GRATZ
PS – I am giving seven talks during the next six weeks. Hope to see you there!
Announcements
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
600-700pm: Happy Hour
700-800pm: Presentation
More details
* Nederland: Nov 12 @ Salto Coffee / Tin Shed Sports
300-600pm: Happy Hour
600-605pm: Eldora News and Intros
605-615pm: POW Presentation (Kerstin Ulf)
615-645pm: OpenSnow Presentation (Joel Gratz)
645-700pm: Q&A with Kerstin & Joel
More details
* 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