Reminder: This season is starting with a much lower snowpack compared to average and compared to last season, so there are only a handful of trails open at the moment.

Wednesday was partly sunny and dry with a high temperature in the 30s.

Now on Thursday, it'll be the calm before the storm. We'll see partly-to-mostly cloudy skies throughout the day, a high temperature in the 20s, and maybe there will be a few snow showers around.

From Thursday night through Sunday, a multi-part storm will bring snow to Colorado, and snow accumulations should be significant. I'll hold on to my initial estimate of 10-15 inches, though if everything comes together just right, snow amounts could be up to double these numbers.

From Thursday night to Saturday morning, we will see 5-10 inches of snow. Because the overall storm setup will not be as favorable for big accumulations during this time due to a wind direction from the west-southwest, my confidence of deeper snow totals is a little lower. We might have some powder (or softer snow) by Friday afternoon, and Saturday throughout the day should offer additional snow and softer/powder conditions as the wind direction (from the west and west-northwest) becomes more favorable for more snow. Saturday's snow quality should be pretty fluffy due to cool temperatures in the teens.

Then from Saturday night through Sunday night, the next phase of the storm will bring a lot of moisture, gusty winds, and more snow. This combination yields a tricky forecast, as a lot of moisture can lead to a lot of snow, yet the gusty winds can impact lift operations and create a thicker (not as fluffy) snow quality. I think there will be an additional 5-10 inches from Saturday night to Sunday, though keep in mind that fast winds could affect lift operations, and the snow quality could be thicker (which is not a bad thing since a thicker base could help operations crews open more terrain).

As (another) reminder, there is very little terrain open, so even with significant snow in the forecast, keep expectations low for riding powder, and hopefully more terrain opens later this weekend or, more likely, early next week.

The longer-range forecast still shows the snowfall should end either later on Sunday or early on Monday, and then we'll see dry and warmer weather during most of the following week. Our next chance for a storm will be sometime between December 8-11.

Thanks for reading!

JOEL GRATZ
Meteorologist at OpenSnow.com

Snow conditions as of Thursday morning

New snow mid-mountain (from the snow stake):
* 0” (24 hours Wednesday 500am to Thursday 500am)
* 0” (Overnight Wednesday 400pm to Thursday 500am)

New snow summit (from the snow stake):
* 0” (24 hours Wednesday 500am to Thursday 500am)
* 0” (Overnight Wednesday 400pm to Thursday 500am)

Last snowfall:
* 6” Friday to Saturday Night (Nov 24-26)

Terrain
* 5 of 23 lifts
* 11 of 181 trails
* Latest update

Snowpack compared to the 30-year average:
* 45%