Recap of Thursday and Thursday Night

We were looking for a wave of snow during the day on Thursday with a few inches, then steadier snow in the central and northern mountains on Thursday night with 2-6 inches.

Based on the reports below, that’s roughly what happened. There were upside surprises with 7-8 inches in Aspen and also 6 inches in Telluride (I wasn’t sure if the wrap-around snow on Thursday night would get as far south as Telluride).

The list below presents the snow from Wednesday + Thursday = Total Snow as of Friday morning.

Southern Mountains
Coal Bank Pass: 11” + 6” = 17”
Wolf Creek: 10” + 7” = 17” (estimate)
Telluride: 7” + 6” = 13”

Central Mountains
Monarch: 5” + 10” = 15” (estimate)
Aspen Highlands: 2” + 8” = 10”
Crested Butte: 4” + 4” = 8”
Snowmass: 1”+7” = 8”
Aspen Mountain: 1” + 6” = 7”
Buttermilk: 1”+ 5” = 6”

Northern Mountains
Beaver Creek: 3” + 6” = 9”
Winter Park: 3 + 6” = 9”
Loveland: 4” + 4” = 8”
Vail: 3” + 5” = 8”
Breckenridge: 3” + 4” = 7”
Copper: 3” + 4” = 7”
Steamboat: 2” + 5” = 7”
Arapahoe Basin: 4” + 2” = 6”
Eldora: 4” + 2” = 6”
Keystone: 3” + 3” = 6”

As of Friday morning, this storm has dropped 6-9 inches in the northern mountains, 6-15 inches in the central mountains, and 13-17 inches in the southern mountains. These numbers were roughly in line with the forecast, though the southern mountains are on the lower end of expectations and Monarch is a high-side outlier in the central mountains.

Below is a picture from the summit of Wolf Creek on Thursday afternoon during a lull in the storm. I love how one solid storm can transform the landscape into a winter scene.

Snow continues on Friday

The national radar animation shows that the storm is heading east but snow is hanging on here in Colorado.

Looking more closely, snow is falling near and east of the divide over the foothills and cities of the Front Range.

And more importantly, the snow has wrapped back west and continues to fall on the central and northern mountains.

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For the rest of Friday, expect another 1-4 inches of accumulation in the central and northern mountains, with snow tapering off during the early afternoon.

Enjoy the freshies on Friday. Yes, there is limited terrain, but it’s still fun to get out there!

Openings

These mountains announced openings this weekend.

Aspen Mountain – Opening for the season on Sat, Nov 23
Beaver Creek – Opening for the season on Sat, Nov 23
Snowmass – Opening for the season on Sat, Nov 23
Purgatory – Opening for the season on Sat, Nov 23
Wolf Creek – Opening for the season on Sat, Nov 23

We are still looking at a dry weekend. Soak up the sunshine on Saturday with more clouds on Sunday.

Next week, we’ll see two significant storms.

The first storm will bring snow from Monday through Tuesday. My early estimate is for 5-10+ inches favoring the northern and central mountains. It’s unlikely that these amounts will go down (all models agree that the storm is coming) though amounts could go higher. Also, I have low confidence about the storm’s exact track, so I can’t pinpoint the location of the highest totals yet, and the southern mountains could get into the action

The second storm will then set up well to the southwest of Colorado from Wednesday through Friday and may not get to Colorado until next weekend (November 30 – December 1). My early estimate for this storm is that the southern mountains will see three days of snow from Wednesday to Friday with high snow levels (warm temperatures), and other mountains will see less snow. Then over the weekend (Nov 30 – Dec 1), all mountains will see more significant snow and colder air. Totals in the high-elevation southern mountains could exceed 2 feet.

Thanks for reading!

My next update will be on Saturday morning.

If you’re not skiing and looking for something to ponder on this Friday, please take a few minutes to read up on CDOT’s traction law – Sam posted a very short summary at the end of this post. In short, if you love chasing snow, my recommendation is to get snow tires! They work very well and are not a gimmick. I have them on my car from October 1 through mid-May and wouldn’t consider driving in the snow without them.

JOEL GRATZ

PS – There are two more talks coming up and I hope to see some of you at one of them (listed below)!

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.

* Breckenridge: Dec 6 @ Colorado Mountain College Breckenridge

* Basalt: Dec 12 @ Bristlecone Mountain Sports
- 700-730 Light refreshments
- 730-830 Presentation + Q&A
- Tickets are $10/person (proceeds benefit Roaring Fork Conservancy)
- More details
- Purchase a ticket in advance (might sell out)

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