Heading into Wednesday afternoon's storm, most forecast models decreased the expected snow totals to 3-6 inches for most mountains and up to 5-8 inches for more favored western mountains.

Now on Thursday morning, with most of the snow accumulation completed, the reality is that most mountains finished up around 3 inches with just a few higher totals up to 6 inches.

Northern Mountains

6" Copper
4" Beaver Creek
4" Breckenridge
4" Vail
3" Arapahoe Basin
3" Cooper
3" Keystone
3" Loveland
3" Steamboat
3" Winter Park

Central Mountains

4" Aspen Highlands
4" Monarch
3" Aspen Mountain
3" Snowmass
3" Sunlight (estimate)
2" Buttermilk
2" Crested Butte
2" Powderhorn

Southern Mountains

3-6" Silverton (estimate from nearby SNOTEL)
3-6" Wolf Creek (estimate from nearby SNOTEL)
2" Telluride (estimate from nearby SNOTEL)
1" Purgatory

The deepest snowfall that I could find was at Copper's mid-mountain stake with about 6 inches. Vail to the west of Copper and Breckenridge to the east of Copper both had 4 inches, so the 6 inches at Copper seemed to be a bit of good fortune.

Areas of the southern mountains also may have received high-end totals of about 5-6 inches based on SNOTEL estimates around Silverton and more uncertain estimates around Wolf Creek based on SNOTEL and cams.

Overall, this storm on Wednesday and Wednesday night was not a big one for us, but at least we saw a little bit of snow. The really deep snowfall from this storm (1-4 feet) fell on states to our west and northwest, and by the time the storm arrived in Colorado, it picked up speed and had much less moisture, which resulted in our lower snow totals.

Thursday

Temperatures will be chilly for all mountains with highs in the single digits and teens. The northern and central mountains will see occasional snow showers and cloudy skies for most of the day.

Friday

Temperatures will continue to be chilly for all mountains with highs in the teens and maybe 20s. Weather conditions will be dry with morning clouds likely dissipating and more sunshine during the second half of the day.

Saturday and Sunday

Temperatures will warm up with highs in the upper 20s to low 30s. While both weekend days will be dry, Saturday will likely have mid-and-high-level clouds filtering the sunshine, while Sunday should be mostly sunny.

The longer-range forecast will be dominated by one factor: chilly temperatures.

Next week: Nov 14-18

The weather pattern next week will keep us on the western edge of the storminess resulting in a chance for two or three low-moisture (and low snowfall) storms and a high probability for colder-than-average temperatures.

There will be chances for storms around Monday, Tuesday, and Friday, but each storm will take a more inland track with low amounts of moisture (not picking up moisture from the Pacific Ocean) so snowfall on these days will likely be on the low end.

These inland storm tracks will keep our temperatures chilly, with highs possibly staying in the teens all of next week. The map below shows the forecast temperature versus the average, with green and purple areas highlighting the coolest temperatures.

While I'd love to see more significant snow next week, that's a low chance, and instead, we'll make do with cooler temperatures which should support around-the-clock snowmaking efforts at all elevations.

Thanksgiving week: Nov 21-25

Most longer-range models are hinting that we'll see a change in the atmospheric flow on or around Thanksgiving week with storminess once again setting up over the Pacific Ocean and a higher chance for snow along the west coast. What this means for Colorado is unclear and we'll need to wait for at least another 5-7 days before having more confidence in the forecast.

Thanks for reading!

Joel Gratz

Upcoming In-Person Presentations

Join me for in-person presentations this fall. These talks are fun (yes, powder science IS fun:-), and I'll discuss thoughts about the upcoming season and snow forecasting tips and tricks. Also, your attendance at many of these talks supports a local non-profit, so thank you for coming!

• Tue, Dec 6. Summit County
  - Presentation in the evening
  - More details soon!
  
  
• Fri, Dec 9. Basalt (Bristlecone Mountain Sports)
  - 700pm Doors Open & Refreshments
  - 730pm Presentation by Joel Gratz
  - Registration opens on Nov 18
  - Proceeds benefit Roaring Fork Conservancy
  
  

New Feature: Forecast Anywhere

You can now get a forecast for any location (on land) across the globe, and you can save any of these "Custom Locations" as a favorite. 

Any "Custom Location" comes with estimated 24-hour snowfall. This means that you can set a "Custom Location" for your favorite backcountry spot and get estimated snowfall and estimated snowfall history. Since most backcountry areas do not have snow measurement equipment located at that exact spot, this feature will be a useful way to get a general estimate of how much snow has fallen.

To set your first "Custom Location", make sure that you are using the latest version of our iOS or Android apps (this works on our website, too!), then go to the Map tab, tap any spot on the map, and you're on the way to creating your first "Custom Location". You can learn more about Forecast Anywhere in this short how-to article.

Being able to get the forecast and save points as "Custom Locations" means that you can use our forecast data for any place you'd like to go - for backcountry skiing, camping, or even to see how much we think it'll snow in your backyard :-) And remember that "Custom Locations" works worldwide, so if you're traveling to a spot on the globe where we don't have a resort-based forecast (we have forecasts for many spots outside the US), go ahead and set up a "Custom Location".

And the last note is that "Custom Locations" are private and no other OpenSnow users will be able to see the "Custom Locations" that you create.

Please check out this new feature and let us know what you think! 

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