It took all day on Thursday for the snow to come, with only about an inch falling on Thursday morning. Then we received 3 inches between about 5 pm and midnight on Thursday evening, and this coincided with when the wind direction switched to blow from the northwest, which is a favorable direction for snow at Copper.

Now on Friday morning, temperatures are around 0F at mid-mountain, the sun is rising to reveal mostly sunny skies, and you'll find 3-4 inches of snow that fell on Thursday evening. That's an excuse to get to the mountain, yeah?

The dry weather on Friday will end on Friday night as the next storm quickly moves into northern Colorado. Expect light snow to start on Friday night, with more intense snow during the day on Saturday. The most intense snow could fall sometime between about 5 pm and 9 pm on Saturday, and along with strong winds, this snow might force I-70 to close. Keep your eye on CDOT for the latest from a driving standpoint. From a skiing standpoint, this snow is great news as you should find powder on Saturday and also on Sunday morning's first chair. Total snowfall should be in the 4-8 inch range, and this storm could over produce, so keep your eye on the snow stake camera!

Sunday will be dry, then the next storm will arrive on Sunday night and bring snow through Monday evening. Yes, it'll be snowing on Christmas, and total accumulations should again be in the 4-8 inch range. Plan on powder on Monday and perhaps Tuesday morning as well.

Then we should see additional chances for snow every 1-3 days through next week and into early January, though I won't be able to offer a detailed forecast for the timing and amount of snow until about three days in advance of each system. I'll keep you posted with a new update each morning!

JOEL GRATZ, Meteorologist at OpenSnow.com