We're itching closer and closer to our first true winter-like storm of the season but we have to first get through the next 48 hours. Tuesday and Wednesday will be much of the same, with dry, warm, and breezy conditions along the mountain corridor. 

Then on Thursday, we will FINALLY see cold temperatures and periods of moderate to heavy snow return to the mountain corridor. The cold front will blast through Colorado on Thursday morning. This will bring our first round of moderate to heavy snow as snow squalls bring good initial totals to some locations and little to others. This will also be the time when driving conditions will deteriorate as icy and snow-packed conditions form along the mountain corridor. I'll try and provide an exact window in Wednesday morning's update. 

Cool northwest flow will then settle in on Thursday night and into Friday morning. This will keep periods of light to moderate snow in the forecast and with northwest flow in place along the I-70 corridor, there can always be a few surprises. 

Overall, expect a full return to winter driving conditions on Thursday and Friday so remember to always stay tuned to CDOT for the latest information. 

After Thursday and Friday's storm, we will quickly dry out and warm back up for the weekend. 

Daytime highs will reach back into the upper 30s to low 40s for the resorts but overnight temperatures will be perfect for snowmaking. 

Another system will then be on the heels of this weekend. The models still have some work to do on this one but we should see another round of light to moderate accumulations on Monday and into Tuesday. 

The middle of next week will quickly dry out before yet another storm takes aim for Colorado around Thanksgiving. Three storms over the next 10 days? Bring it on!

Below is the snow forecast for Vail over the next 10 days. Instead of showing you just one model run, each horizontal line represents 1 of 51 versions of the European ensemble model.

The dates run along the bottom of the graphic, with snow totals on the right. After a very warm October and early November, winter is finally ramping up along the I-70 corridor!

Thanks for reading and look for my next update on Wednesday morning.

SAM COLLENTINE