Colorado Daily Snow

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By Joel Gratz, Founding Meteorologist Posted 1 year ago January 23, 2023

A cold week with light snow

Summary

On Monday morning, light snow is falling on the southern and eastern mountains due to a storm that is spinning far to the southwest of Colorado. From Tuesday to Thursday, we will see very cold temperatures with highs of 5-15°F, and we could also see light snow during these three days. Then from January 28 to February 1, a stronger storm might bring more snow to Colorado.

Short Term Forecast

The storm on Sunday night into Monday morning tracked far to the southwest of Colorado. Still, we were able to eke out some snow, with 1-3 inches in the southern mountains (Silverton, Telluride, Purgatory, Wolf Creek) and 1-2 inches in the eastern mountains (Eldora, Loveland, Monarch).

Earlier forecasts showed this storm tracking closer to Colorado with 6+ inch forecasts for the southern and eastern mountains, but then all models jumped on board the far southwestern storm track and lowered snowfall totals.

For the rest of Monday, light snow could continue over the southern and eastern mountains, and most other areas should be dry.

Behind the storm, on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, we will see cold temperatures with light snow. High temperatures during these three days will be 5-15°F, and the light snow could amount to at least a couple of fluffy inches though the very cold air will contain little moisture, and this will likely be a limiting factor for snowfall accumulations.

Extended Forecast

Starting on Friday, January 27, or Saturday, January 28, the atmosphere will transition from a cold yet dry-ish weather pattern over our mountains to a potentially stormier pattern.

From January 28 to February 1, one scenario is that the weather pattern will become stormier with at least one round of snowfall. Another scenario is that the northern and eastern areas of Colorado will see very cold temperatures and most of the snow will stay west and/or north of Colorado.

Below we can see that most of the 51 versions of the European model show some type of storm between January 28 to February 1, though there is no consensus about the timing or the strength of the storm.

Also shown is a potential round of storminess during the following weekend, around February 4-6.

I wish that I could offer more specifics about the forecast for the next two weeks, though at this point all I can say is that this week will be cold with the chance for light snow, then we'll have two chances for a stronger storm around Jan 28 - Feb 1 and again around Feb 4-6.

Oftentimes, the forecast for 5+ days into the future can give us clues about what we might expect, but details of the forecast remain elusive until just a few days before a potential storm arrives.

Thanks for reading!

Joel Gratz

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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

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.

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