Wednesday was a stormy day, especially across the western part of the central and northern mountains where the band of intense snow stalled for most of the day. The deepest snow totals were 9-11 inches (about one inch per hour throughout the day) at Powderhorn, Beaver Creek, the Aspen area, and Irwin.

Here are the snow totals from Monday through Thursday morning. Each number to the right of the mountain represents the 24-hour snowfall measured on Tuesday morning, Wednesday morning, and Thursday morning.

Northern Mountains

19” Steamboat (9+2+8)
17” Cameron Pass (10+0+7)
17” Beaver Creek (4+4+9)
14” Vail (3+4+7)
12” Copper (2+3+7)
9” Loveland (2+3+4)
9” Winter Park (4+1+4)
8” Breckenridge (2+2+4)
8” Cooper (2+4+2)
8” Keystone (3+2+3)
6” A-Basin (2+2+2)
5” Eldora (1+1+3)

Central Mountains

36” Irwin (18+7+11)
27” Powderhorn (9+7+11)
24” Aspen Highlands (6+7+11)
21” Crested Butte (8+7+6)
20” Snowmass (4+5+11)
18” Aspen Mountain (3+4+11)
18” Buttermilk (2+5+11)
16” Sunlight (5+4+7)
13” Monarch (5+3+5)

Southern Mountains

53” Wolf Creek (28+17+8)
39” Purgatory (16+14+9)
25” Silverton (12+10+3)
16” Telluride (8+4+4)

Wednesday's snow quality was dense due to strong winds and warm temperatures which were generally in the mid-to-upper 20s.

Wednesday night delivered a few inches of additional snow which will put a soft top on the snow that fell during the day on Wednesday.

Thursday will bring a mix of clouds, snow showers, and maybe some breaks of sunshine, and the high temperature will be around 20°F.

Thursday night will bring a continuation of a mix of clouds and snow showers. However, there is a somewhat defined wave of energy that will pass over and east of the mountains on Thursday night, and sometimes this can lead to a bit of an upside surprise, especially around the northern mountains which can benefit from a brief period of winds from the northwest. So I will watch the snow stake cams across the northern mountains to see if we can eke out some bonus fluff by Friday morning.

Friday will likely be another mixed day with some clouds and some sun and some snow showers.

Friday night will be the next chance for a period of steadier snow and perhaps sneaky high accumulations. A strong-ish wave of energy will move directly across Colorado and most of the higher-resolution forecast models are showing 4-8 inches of snow on average with up to 10-12 inches possible in spots. Temperatures will be colder compared to Wednesday's storm, and this will lead to fluffier snow quality.

Saturday should start with powder due to the snow that falls on Friday night, and snow could linger through midday. The temperature will be cold with a high in the single digits.

Saturday Night and Sunday should be mainly dry with a few snow showers hanging around and a chilly high temperature in the single digits.

Sunday night into Monday will likely bring another round of steadier snow with perhaps a few inches of accumulation. While the storm energy will be rather strong, moisture will be limited due to the cold airmass, and this limited moisture could limit snow totals to just a couple of inches.

For next week, Monday midday through most of Wednesday will be dry. Monday will be chilly with a high temperature of around 10°F, then Tuesday and Wednesday will feel like spring with a high temperature of around 30°F.

The best chance for snow will be later next week, starting at about Wednesday night, and maybe continuing through Sunday, April 2. It's still too early to know if this will be one storm or multiple rounds of snow, but it's pretty likely that at least some snow will fall during this time and there might be some powder as early as Thursday, March 30.

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