The first part of the storm on Friday night dropped 3-6 inches of snow on most mountains. This was generally in the ballpark of what we were expecting, with perhaps a touch higher amounts compared to our expectations for mountains farther to the east (near the divide).

The change to the forecast that I wrote about earlier this morning is that instead of the most snow showers forming on Saturday afternoon, we'll see snow showers all day on Saturday. In fact, many mountains have already added 1-3 inches to their morning totals as I post this now at 1000am.

Below is the expected snowfall on Saturday with 3-6 inches a good bet for many central and especially northern mountains.

On Saturday night, the snow showers could continue with a few more inches of scattered accumulation in the northern half of Colorado, then the showers should wane by Sunday morning.

I don't expect much new snow on Sunday, though with snow falling a lot of the day on Saturday and into Saturday night, there's a chance that some of the crusty bottom could be covered by the new powder on Sunday morning.

Sunday afternoon and Sunday night continue to be a time of potential and uncertainty. Locations near and east of the divide, like Winter Park, Loveland, A-Basin, Breckenridge, and south through the Sawatch Range and the Sangre de Cristo Range might see a period of intense snow with a rapid accumulation of 2-6+ inches. But, some major models have shifted this more intense snow to the south and east with their latest updates, so I wouldn't bet on the snow, but I would watch the snow stake cams and radar to see if Monday morning will be sneaky good. 

Next week's forecast continues to look dry and warm with high temperatures in the 40s and 50s and a melting snowpack.

Our next chance for a little bit of snow in the northern mountains could be around April 29-30, and then the next storm could be around May 4-6. I do not have high expectations for either system at the moment.

I will continue to post daily through Monday morning to keep track of the current storm, then I will wrap up posts for the season with a final forecast next week. Yes, there's more riding to enjoy as we head into May, but the weather will be calming down, our forecast data will continue to be updated hourly, and I'll be taking some time to recharge from morning writing and our team will be focusing on a super useful forecasting feature that we'll roll out this spring/summer.

Thanks for reading!

JOEL GRATZ

PS - Join me at A-Basin TODAY (Saturday, April 23rd) for an Earth Day celebration. There will be carpool giveaways, the chance to win prizes, and I'll be part of a panel discussion from 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm talking about the weather, climate, and the future of snowsports. More info here.

Geography Key

Northern Mountains
Steamboat, Bluebird Backcountry, 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