Thursday was a fun powder day with some fresh snow at first chair plus an additional 2-3 inches that fell during the day.

Thursday night was dry, and now on Friday morning, temperatures are chilly (single digits and teens) and clouds are covering the sky as moisture hangs around in advance of our next storm.

Friday will be mostly dry with times of light snow showers and light accumulation, mostly during the afternoon.

Friday night through Saturday evening will be when we'll see the next storm, and this system will bring a lot of moisture and warming temperatures that rise into the 20s. Snow quality will be thick with dense powder, and due to the warming temperatures, there could be some rain at times near the bottom of the mountain.

For total snowfall, I think 8-16 inches is a reasonable estimate. With a lot of moisture in the air, snow can pile up quickly, but the warm temperatures can also push snow totals to the lower end, so I am keeping my expectations in check. For timing, about half of the expected snow should accumulate by Saturday early morning with the other half accumulating on Saturday during the day.

From Saturday night through much of Sunday, we should see cloudy skies yet little snow as the wind direction shifts to an unfavorable direction out of the southwest and the south.

Then from Sunday night through Wednesday, another storm will bring 8-16 inches of snow with powder possible on Monday and Tuesday and maybe even into Wednesday.

Following that, we should dry out on Thursday, January 5, and then there is a high likelihood for more snow around Friday, January 6 to Saturday, January 7.

Thanks for reading! 

JOEL GRATZ
Meteorologist at OpenSnow.com

Snow conditions as of Friday morning

New snow mid-mountain:
* 2” (24 hours Thursday 500am to Friday 500am)
* 0” (Overnight Thursday 400pm to Friday 500am)

New snow summit:
* 3” (24 hours Thursday 500am to Friday 500am)
* 0” (Overnight Thursday 400pm to Friday 500am)

Last snowfall:
* 19” Tuesday Night to Thursday (Dec 27-29)

Terrain
* 20 of 21 lifts
* 164 of 171 trails
* Latest update

Snowpack compared to the 30-year average:
* 129%