Colorado Daily Snow

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

By Joel Gratz, Founding Meteorologist Posted 3 years ago February 19, 2021

Snowpack in better shape, next storm Saturday into Sunday

Summary

Friday will bring just light snow to the northern mountains. On Saturday, we'll see snow ramp up by the afternoon and fall through Saturday night, ending on Sunday morning. Snow totals should be 5-10 inches and favor the northern, central, and northside of the San Juan mountains. Then we'll look ahead to a storm next Wednesday into Thursday with more snow during the final days of February.

Short Term Forecast

Before getting to the forecast, let's take a quick look at the health of our snowpack across Colorado.

As of February 19th, most river basins are near or above 90% of average, which is a significant improvement from a few weeks ago.

Looking at this season's snowpack (dark blue) compared to the average (red) and also compared to previous years, we were well below average during the middle of January and are now catching up with a statewide number of about 90% of average.

If the next 10 days of storms deliver a reasonable amount of snow, we should maintain or even advance our position against the average, and we do have a chance of catching up if the coming storms take a favorable track.

Friday

The northern mountains will see clouds and light snow showers with accumulations ranging from just a few flakes to maybe an inch or two over the higher peaks.

Saturday into Sunday

This will be our best chance for snow during the next five days. Snow showers should ramp up on Saturday afternoon, snow should continue on Saturday night, and then snow showers will dissipate on Sunday morning. All models still point to 5-10 inches as the most reasonable forecast from Saturday midday to Sunday midday.

The snow will favor the northern mountains, the central mountains, and the north side of the San Juan mountains around Telluride and Silverton.

For the amount of snow, a lot will hinge on how productive the showers are on Saturday afternoon into the evening. These showers will be intense and somewhat random – if they hit or linger over a certain mountain, snow totals will be on the higher end of the range, and vice versa.

Extended Forecast

Sunday will offer lingering snow showers in the morning with drying for most of the state during the day (light showers could remain over the far northern mountains throughout the day).

Monday and Tuesday will be dry.

Wednesday and Thursday will bring the next storm. It appears that the storm track could deliver the most snow to areas near and east of the divide, though we'll need a few more days to figure this out with higher confidence.

Then, during the final few days of February and into early March, a stormy weather pattern should set up over the Rockies with the chance for multiple storms. I am keeping an eye on the weekend of February 27-28 and also around March 1-2 for the best chances of snow, though this timing likely will change at least a little bit since we're talking about a 7-10+ day forecast. 

Thanks for reading!

JOEL GRATZ

Announcements

Backcountry

If you've seen pictures of backcountry riding in fresh powder, and it looks appealing, please remember that going into the backcountry is awesome AND requires education if you're going to enjoy it safely and respectfully.

This is a great place to start to find out more about taking educational classes, hiring guides, and in general, to learn how to get into the backcountry and have a ton of fun and do so safely: https://www.colorado.com/WinterBackcountrySafety

Geography Key

Northern Mountains
Steamboat, Granby, Beaver Creek, Vail, Ski Cooper, Copper, Breckenridge, Keystone, Loveland, Arapahoe Basin, 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

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.

Free OpenSnow App