Monday was warmer than Sunday with sunny skies and afternoon temperatures getting close to 10°F.

Tuesday will feel even more comfortable with sunny skies and afternoon temperatures reaching about 20°F. Enjoy the warmth!

The upcoming storm is still on track to start on Wednesday. However, I do have a change to the forecast as the storm should depart on Thursday night and will NOT bring significant snow on Friday or Saturday.

On Wednesday morning and midday, we should see clouds and snow showers with just light accumulations.

Then intense snow should begin on Wednesday at about 3-4 pm and snow should continue through Wednesday night. The wind direction during this part of the storm is forecast to be from the west and west-northwest which are not the best wind directions, and this should limit snow amounts.

On Thursday morning, the snow report should read 2-5 inches. With some of the storm’s energy tracking farther west over western Colorado I am comfortable with this low-to-moderate forecast though perhaps we’ll get lucky and see more snow than models predict.

For the rest of Thursday and Thursday night, we’ll continue to see snow showers with at least a few inches of accumulation during the day and snow continuing through the early evening. The wind direction should adjust to blow from the northwest, which is a favorable direction. Another 2-5+ inches on Thursday and Thursday evening is a reasonable forecast based on the combination of a good wind direction and a trailing piece of energy that should move through before midnight on Thursday.

Snow will end on Thursday night and I think Friday morning’s fresh snow should ski very nicely as the base will have had time to soften and we should have seen at least a few inches of new snow after lifts closed on Thursday afternoon. Storm total snowfall should be 5-10 inches.

Friday’s weather should be chilly, cloudy, and bring a few lingering light snow showers.

Saturday should be sunny and warmer.

Then additional storms are possible from January 5-6, January 9-10, and a stormy period could set up over the western United States sometime after about January 10. All of this is good news.

Thanks for doing your snow dance, and happy new year!

Thanks for reading and check back each morning for daily updates!

JOEL GRATZ
Meteorologist at OpenSnow.com
Contact me: [email protected]

Snow conditions as of Tuesday morning

New snow mid-mountain:
* 0” (24 hours Monday 500am to Tuesday 500am)
* 0” (Overnight Monday 400pm to Tuesday 500am)

Last snowfall:
* 3” from Friday Night to Saturday (Dec 27-28)

Terrain
* 22 of 23 lifts
* 131 of 149 trails
* Latest update

Snowpack compared to the 30-year average:
* 114%