Colorado Daily Snow
By Joel Gratz, Founding Meteorologist Posted 1 year ago March 22, 2023
Wednesday Powderday
Summary
Tuesday delivered 6-12+ inches to the southern mountains, and then on Tuesday night, the storm ramped up with snow across the entire state. Now on Wednesday, were are looking forward to a stormy day with periods of intense snow and strong winds leading to denser, surfy powder. This storm will wind down on Wednesday evening, but the chances for snow will continue throughout the weekend.
Short Term Forecast
It's Wednesday morning, and as we were expecting, we are right in the middle of the storm with powder across Colorado.
The numbers below show the total snowfall from Sunday night to Wednesday at sunrise, and to the right of the resort name, the first number is the Tuesday morning snow report and the second number is the Wednesday morning snow report.
Northern Mountains
11” Steamboat (9+2)
10” Cameron Pass (10+0)
8” Beaver Creek (4+4)
7” Vail (3+4)
6” Cooper (2+4)
5” Copper (2+3)
5” Keystone (3+2)
5” Loveland (2+3)
5” Winter Park (4+1)
4” A-Basin (2+2)
4” Breckenridge (2+2)
2” Eldora (1+1)
Central Mountains
25” Irwin (18+7)
16” Powderhorn (9+7)
15” Crested Butte (8+7)
13” Aspen Highlands (6+7)
9” Snowmass (4+5)
9” Sunlight (5+4)
8” Monarch (5+3)
7” Aspen Mountain (3+4)
7” Buttermilk (2+5)
Southern Mountains
45” Wolf Creek (28+17)
30” Purgatory (16+14)
22” Silverton (12+10)
12” Telluride (8+4)
In addition to this snow, now on Wednesday, wind gusts are strong with 40-60 mph readings at the upper elevations of the central and southern mountains. The combination of a LOT of snow and strong winds has increased avalanche risk and a number of roads are closed, especially mountain passes across southern Colorado.
Wednesday
Wednesday will be a stormy day. The radar animation on Wednesday at sunrise shows a band of intense snow stretching from southwest to northeast over the southern mountains and the west-central mountains. This band could be stationary through midday and then could move to the east and somewhat break apart.
Snow totals on Wednesday will be significant with 5-15 inches of snow for most mountains and powder that gets deeper throughout the day.
Wind gusts on Wednesday will be strong with readings of 40-60 mph at upper elevations. This could slow or close some lifts and limit some terrain that's available, and these strong winds will also likely make the snow quality surfy and dense.
And of course, avalanche risk in the backcountry (and sidecountry!) ranges from considerable to extreme – here's the map.
Wednesday Night
We should see at least a few inches of snow continue through Wednesday evening, then the snow should be done by around Wednesday at midnight. The exception is around Steamboat and other northwestern mountains where a wind from the west could keep the snow falling.
Thursday
Thursday could offer powder in the morning on in-bounds terrain that was not ridden on Wednesday due to closures related to lifts or avalanche risk and/or from any snow that fell after lifts closed on Wednesday afternoon.
During the day on Thursday, we could see some snow showers with the best chance for some snow accumulation during the afternoon and also farther north around Steamboat.
Looking Ahead
There will be more chances for snow through the weekend and I'll talk about those in the Extended Forecast section below.
Extended Forecast
Thursday Night & Friday
I think a lot of Thursday night and Friday will be on the drier side. We could see some snow showers, but snow totals will likely not be significant unless there is an upside surprise related to lingering storm energy and lingering moisture across the northern mountains.
Friday afternoon to Saturday morning
The next wave of storm energy and steady snow should deliver 4-8+ inches of snow from later on Friday to early on Saturday. I think Saturday morning could wind up being a low-to-moderate powder day.
Saturday and Sunday
Most of the weekend could be on the drier side with just a few snow showers around.
Sunday night to Monday morning
This will be the next chance for snow, though right now the potential snowfall from later Sunday into early Monday looks like it will bring only light accumulations.
Next Week
The longer-term outlook for next week is becoming a little more clear as we should see mainly dry weather from Monday, March 27 to Wednesday, March 29. Then it is likely that we will see another storm with snow sometime between Thursday, March 30 to Sunday, April 2.
Thanks for reading!
Joel Gratz
Announcements
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