Wednesday and Wednesday night delivered snow with about 11 inches at mid-mountain. This was significantly above my forecast range of 4-9 inches, and perhaps it is Copper's higher elevation that allowed it to more efficiently convert the incoming moisture to snow.

With about 6 inches falling on Wednesday night, and likely another 1-2 inches between now at 630am and when lifts open, there should be plenty of soft/fresh turns to enjoy on Thursday morning. Temperatures on Thursday will be in the upper teens to low 20s, and we'll likely see clouds persist throughout the day with maybe a few more snowflakes in the air as well.

Friday and Saturday

On Friday, some clouds and maybe a few snowflakes could hang around, and then Saturday should be dry with partly to mostly cloudy skies. The high temperature on both days will be in the upper 20s.

Longer Range Outlook

A storm to the southwest of Colorado will push clouds and snow showers over the state for most of next week, and temperatures will be warm-ish with daily highs in the 20s.

Our best chances for snow during this period should be Saturday night through Monday (January 20-22) and maybe again later next week from Thursday to Friday (January 25-26).

While moisture will be plentiful, storm energy will be weak and disorganized and temperatures will be warm, so I am not expecting deep snow accumulations.

Some of the very longer-range forecast models hint at a return to a stormier weather pattern in early February, so we'll eke out whatever snow we can get between now and then and hope for more action as we move into next month.

Thanks for reading!

JOEL GRATZ
Meteorologist at OpenSnow.com

Snow conditions as of Thursday morning

New snow mid-mountain:
* 11” (24 hours Wednesday 500am to Thursday 300am)
* 6” (Overnight Wednesday 400pm to Thursday 300am)

Last snowfall:
* 11” Tuesday Night to Thursday (Jan 16-18)

Terrain
* 21 of 23 lifts
* 132 of 157 trails
* Latest update

Snowpack compared to the 30-year average:
* 93%