Hello!

It's been a few months since my previous update in late May.

The summer has been reasonably wet with few wildfires and this has been a lovely change compared to previous summers.

Smoke

On Tuesday, September 6th, we are dealing with some wildfire smoke, but its source is not here in Colorado. Instead, the smoke is blowing in from the northwest (direct link to the map on OpenSnow).

Zooming into Colorado, we can see that some of the northwestern smoke has made it to the northern and eastern parts of Colorado with poor air quality in these areas (direct link to the map on OpenSnow).

The high-resolution smoke forecast for the next two days shows that we will be dealing with some surface-level smoke as well as some hazy skies due to the smoke blowing in from the northwest. Here are direct links to the two-day surface smoke forecast and the two-day sky smoke forecast here on OpenSnow. These maps are available on our website and mobile apps, and the forecast data updates every six hours. I check these maps frequently in hopes that the forecast will change for the better.

Cool temperatures this weekend over eastern Colorado

A storm tracking to the north of Colorado will drag cool air over some northern mountains and areas near and east of the divide from Friday through Sunday. Temperatures will be cooler than average over some northern and eastern areas and warmer than average for other locations in Colorado.

The cool-down will be obvious in the Denver metro area as high temperatures on Friday and Sunday should be in the 70s and Saturday will be the coolest day with cloudy skies and temperatures in the 60s.

We will likely see some precipitation associated with this cool down, especially near and east of the divide, with drizzle and showers likely late Friday into Saturday.

With cooler temperatures and a snow level possibility lowering to 12,000 feet (or so) over the northern mountains near the divide, we could see some snowflakes and light snow accumulation if showers happen to coincide with the timing of the coolest temperatures. But at this point, I do not expect any significant snow accumulation. Also, many mountains across Colorado have seen a dusting of snow at their highest elevations during times in August, so this system will not be the 'first snow' during the late summer or early fall period.

If you're looking for significant snow, head to Alaska or the southern hemisphere in New Zealand, Chile, or Argentina. Here is a direct link to our Global Powder Finder 10-Day Snow Forecast map.

Forecast for the upcoming winter

It's going to snow! That's the forecast:-) Here's a quick run-down on La Nina and what it could mean for the winter ahead, though the correlation between La Nina and snowfall here in Colorado is not as strong as it is in other places, like the Northern Rockies and the Northwest. So keep your expectations in check:-)

Thanks for reading!

JOEL GRATZ