Colorado Daily Snow

Heads up, there may be fresher snow! Read the latest Colorado Daily Snow

By Joel Gratz, Founding Meteorologist Posted 4 years ago November 8, 2019

Not much happening

Summary

Another day, and no change in the going forecast. Maybe the northern mountains will see a few flakes during the next week, but the storm track will mostly stay away from Colorado for the next 1-2 weeks. Things might pick up during the last third of November, but that’s out in fantasy land and I have little confidence in the forecast that far away.

Short Term Forecast

Weather-wise, there is not much new to report.

Resort-wise, we’ll add more mountains to the ‘Open’ list on Friday with one surprise next week.

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)

Early Openings
* Steamboat just announced that they will open on Friday, November 15th.

Snow-wise, our current snowpack is still above average for the northern 2/3rds of Colorado.

However, precipitation during the first seven days of November has been basically nothing (lots of red on the map below).

This means that our snowpack vs. average numbers have declined, and they will continue to decline for at least the next week.

Three brush-by storms will move past Colorado on Sunday/Monday, November 10/11, Thursday, November 14, and Sunday, November 17th. All models continue to show these storms staying too far to the east to bring significant snow to our mountains. Areas east of the divide might see clouds and snowflakes, but most mountains will stay dry.

Extended Forecast

The 15-day forecasts continue to show a mostly dry outlook for Colorado and the Rockies. There are hints that a storm or two could sneak into our area sometime around or after November 20th, but this is more of a ‘wish-cast’ and not a concrete ‘fore-cast’. My expectation for significant snow continues to be low.

I will repeat the following disclaimer through the next week or two in case this post is someone’s first visit to the Colorado Daily Snow and it seems like all we are talking about is doom and gloom.

* The snowfall we had in October was well above average, some mountains are open, and more will be open soon.

* Temperatures should be cold enough for nighttime snowmaking to continue.

* If we can get a few significant storms in late November through early December, terrain options will quickly expand.

* Neither a snowy October nor 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 Saturday morning.

JOEL GRATZ

PS –  I hope to see some of you at my talk in Frisco on Friday night, or at other upcoming talks listed below!

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
- Show up before 600pm to check-in and grab a drink
- Talk starts at 600pm
- $5 entry fee gets you a beer and snacks
- Must register here

* 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

Plug for the 12th Annual CAIC Benefit Bash
- November 23rd at the Breckenridge Riverwalk Center
- The biggest fundraiser of the year for CAIC
- LOTS of prizes, awesome live music, silent and live auctions, dinner, and drinks
- Win skis, splitboards, packs, and more
- Get your ticket today!

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

About Our Forecaster

Joel Gratz

Founding Meteorologist

Joel Gratz is the Founding Meteorologist of OpenSnow and has lived in Boulder, Colorado since 2003. Before moving to Colorado, he spent his childhood as a (not very fast) ski racer in eastern Pennsylvania.

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