Wow, there is a lot going on during this final full week of April. Let's get right to it!

On Monday night, a round of snow showers pushed across the northern and central mountains and delivered more snow than I expected. Here are the snow totals as of Tuesday morning.

7” Steamboat (not open)
4” A-Basin
4” Loveland
3” Aspen mountains (not open)
3” Copper
2” Breckenridge
2” Vail (not open)
1” Winter Park

Loveland picked up about 4 inches which should ride nicely, at least on top of the groomed/smoother surfaces.

Now we are looking forward to a potent storm with snow from Tuesday through Wednesday. Snow will begin by Tuesday mid-afternoon and continue through Wednesday morning or midday.

The first part of the storm on Tuesday afternoon and evening could bring the most snow to most mountains, then the storm will slowly shift to the southeast and continue to deliver snow to the southern half of the front range and the continental divide through Wednesday midday.

The best powder at ski areas will be on Wednesday's first chair and it would be good to get after it early as the sun will likely make an appearance by some point on Wednesday late morning or midday and the sunshine in late April quickly turns the new powder into mush.

The snow quality will be on the thicker side as this will be a warm storm with temperatures in the 20s. Snow that is a little thicker is likely preferred as it could do a better job of covering the harder base.

Snow amounts have decreased somewhat compared to my previous forecast, though I still expect 5-10 inches for most ski areas, and closer to 10-15 inches for locations near and east of the divide. The open resorts of A-Basin, Loveland, and Winter Park are right on the edge of these higher totals – as usual, keep expectations on the lower end, and check the snow stakes to see if there will be an upside surprise as the storm swirls and maybe throws a few extra inches to these locations.

Below is the multi-model average snow forecast. This looks reasonable to me, though as I mentioned, there could be upside surprises at a few spots. This storm put down a quick 11 inches in Utah on Monday night as it rotated through, so it's not out of the question that it can deliver double-digit totals to ski areas here in Colorado.

Below are other snow forecasts, just to show the range of outcomes.

The CAIC model is roughly in line with the multi-model average above.

The OpenSnow version #1 model is also roughly in line with the two models above.

And the OpenSnow version #2 model shows a more southerly track with some drier air over the northern and central mountains and lower snow totals for these areas.

The uncertainty in the forecast is not unusual, and when we average everything together, we still come out with a solid storm of 5-10 inches for most mountains and 10-15 inches possible near and just east of the divide. There will likely be some area of the foothills (between the plains to the east and the continental divide to the west) that will see 2-3 feet of snow by Wednesday afternoon, and of course, we will take the moisture!

For the cities on the plains, this will generally be a rain storm and not a snow storm, but the snow level could drop as low as 6,000 feet, so snow could accumulate on the grass and the trees of the plains while roads should stay wet.

After the storm, Thursday will be dry and sunny with a high temperature in the 30s.

Then Thursday night will bring a fast-moving storm from north to south and this will be a colder system compared to the Tuesday/Wednesday storm. Expect 3-8 inches by Friday morning's first chair / mid-morning with the higher totals near and just east of the divide. Friday morning should feel like winter with a chill in the air (temperatures in the teens) and fresh snow. The skiing quality could be fluff on crust, but it will still be fun to slide around.

Looking further ahead, we should see dry weather from about April 29 to May 2, then there will be chances for showers later the following week, as is somewhat typical for May.

I'll continue to write daily updates through Friday morning, then will head into hibernation for the summer months:-)

Thanks for reading!

Joel Gratz

My final post of the season will be on Friday, April 28.

And even though our Daily Snow posts will take a break over the summer, remember that your OpenSnow All-Access subscription (list of all features) is good for 365 days.

Here are some things that you might find useful during the summer and fall:

- Forecasts Anywhere on Earth
- Live & Forecast Radar
- Wildfire Smoke Forecast Maps
- Estimated Trail Conditions
- Air Quality Forecast Maps
- Hourly Lightning Forecasts
- Historical Weather
- Offline Satellite & Terrain Maps

This means you can use OpenSnow to track the freeze/thaw cycle for corn snow and peak-bagging this spring, avoid lightning and wildfire smoke this summer, escape to the desert next fall, and find every powder day next winter.

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