I hope you were able to enjoy the 3-4 inches of snow that fell on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Now on Friday morning, the temperature is in the single digits (chilly!) and should rise into the low 30s by early afternoon. Saturday should also see temperatures in the low 30s with dry weather and sunny skies.

The next potential storm on Saturday night is throwing us a curve ball and will now track too far to the west to bring much or any snow to Copper. Bummer. At least temperatures will continue to be cold enough to make snow each night and most of each day, which should allow more terrain to open.

Our next chance for natural snow will be on Thursday, December 21st. I am hoping for at least a few inches, and perhaps more, which could lead to the second Thursday in a row with fresh powder. After that, while confidence is low in the 10+ day forecast, my estimate is that we will see a few days of drier weather leading up to Christmas, and then perhaps another storm during the final few days of the month. As always, I'll keep you updated with a new forecast posted each morning.

JOEL GRATZ, Meteorologist at OpenSnow.com