Thursday

On Thursday, the main story was the strong wind from the east, which gusted to 60mph at the summit and caused numerous lift/gondola closures.

Friday

On Friday, the center of the storm will still be stalled to the southwest of Colorado, and the counter-clockwise flow of air around the storm causes a wind from the east at Steamboat.

When this wind direction combines with the terrain in the area, it causes strong and gusty winds over the ski area. Summit wind gusts are 45-55mph on Friday morning, and while these gusts will decrease throughout the day, there could still be lift/gondola closures.

The high temperature on Friday will be in the 30s with partly sunny skies.

Saturday & Sunday

Both days this weekend will be mostly dry and partly sunny. The storm will continue to be stalled to the southwest of Colorado, and this system could push some clouds and a few showers over the mountain at any time. Also, the wind direction will continue to be from the east and this could lead to gusty conditions and lift/gondola closures at times. High temperatures will be in the 30s.

Monday & Tuesday

The weather on Monday and Tuesday should be similar to Saturday and Sunday with mostly dry and partly sunny conditions, and a high temperature in the 30s. Wind speeds will NOT be gusty, so there should be NO issues with lift/gondola operations on these days.

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

The storm that is stalled to the southwest of Colorado will finally get a move on and will track over Colorado. This could lead to light-to-moderate snow at any time during Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. High temperatures will continue to be warm/comfortable, rising into the 30s each day.

Longer Range

From Saturday, March 23 through the end of March, multiple storms will likely track from the Pacific Ocean through Colorado, so chances are high that there will be multiple days with fresh snow, and perhaps a couple of true powder days as well.

My next update will be Saturday morning.

Thanks for reading!

JOEL GRATZ
Meteorologist at OpenSnow.com

Snow conditions as of Friday morning

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

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

Last snowfall:
* 9” Tuesday Night to Wednesday Night (Mar 12-14)

Terrain
* 10 of 23 lifts
* 150 of 181 trails
* Latest update

Snowpack compared to the 30-year average:
* 114%