Sunday's weather was sunny and cool with the only wrinkle being a few early-morning snow showers in the far southern mountains.

On Sunday afternoon, the scene at Coal Bank Pass in the southern mountains between Silverton and Purgatory looked like this with dry weather and sunny skies

And now on Monday morning just before sunrise, the scene at Coal Bank Pass looks like this, with snow in the air.

The first part of a seven-day storm cycle will be from Monday morning to Tuesday morning.

On Monday, this first wave of snow will bring deepening powder throughout the day to the southern mountains, and there will be lighter amounts of snow falling in the central and northern mountains.

On Monday night, storm energy will move directly across Colorado and we'll see additional snow between Monday at sunset and Tuesday at sunrise. This means that most mountains will have powder on Tuesday morning with 24-hour totals of 4-10+ inches across the northern and central mountains and likely 10-20 inches across the far southern mountains.

The snow quality on Monday and Monday night should be 'medium', likely not too dense, but probably not total fluff, either.

Below is a forecast for snowfall from Monday morning to Tuesday morning.

Tuesday morning into midday should bring a brief break in the snow for most mountains through the far southern mountains will continue to see snow.

The second part of a seven-day storm cycle will be from Tuesday midday to Wednesday night.

Intense snow squalls will develop starting later on Tuesday and continue on Tuesday night and throughout the entire day on Wednesday.

In the far southern mountains, the snow will likely be steadier and pile up to 20-30+ inches with more fresh powder on Tuesday afternoon and then a very deep day throughout the entire day on Wednesday.

In the central and northern mountains, while we could see some new powder on Tuesday afternoon, the best chance for powder will be throughout the day on Wednesday and also possibly on Thursday morning if snow hangs on during Wednesday evening.

The time from Wednesday midday through the afternoon could bring BOTH intense snow and gusty winds of 40-60 mph. This means that lifts could be slowed or shut down and that some roads may be closed due to crashes or low visibility.

Storm total snow from Monday morning to Thursday morning will be impressive with 3-4 feet in the far southern mountains, 1-2 feet for other southern mountains and the west-central mountains, and likely 10-18 inches for other central and northern mountains.

Below are snow forecasts through Thursday morning from two high-resolution models. Both models offer similar forecasts, which increases our confidence.

The snow will not end on Thursday but the forecast will become more complex, and I will talk more about this below.

Thursday and Friday will bring more snow showers and could be anything from days with powder leftovers to days that are sneaky deep. It all depends on the track of additional storm energy and moisture and I have low confidence about how this will shake out. At this point, I am keeping expectations low and acknowledging in my brain that lingering moisture in a flow from the west could deliver fluffy powder to some mountains.

Saturday and Sunday, March 25-26, should bring another storm through Colorado. Like Thursday and Friday, I have low confidence in the details and it may take another few days to figure things out.

Monday and Tuesday, March 27-28, should be dry as we await the next storm to move in from the west.

Wednesday to Friday, March 29-31, should be when we see the next chance for snow. Some model projections show a fast-moving storm around the 29th, and others show a slower-moving system lingering into the weekend of April 1-2. As usual with ~10-day forecasts, we'll need to wait to figure out the details.

Thanks for reading!

Joel Gratz

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