Steamboat Daily Snow
By Joel Gratz, Founding Meteorologist Posted 18 days ago December 7, 2024
Sunny Saturday, breezy Sunday, some snow on Monday
Summary
Saturday will be gorgeous and sunny, we'll see dry weather with gustier winds on Sunday, and then a storm will bring cold air and some snow on Monday and Tuesday.
Update
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Conditions
- New Snow (Mid Mountain snow stake)
- 0” Friday 500am to Saturday 500am (24 hours)
- 0” Friday 500pm to Saturday 500am (12 hours)
- New Snow (Summit snow stake)
- 0” Friday 500am to Saturday 500am (24 hours)
- 0” Friday 500pm to Saturday 500am (12 hours)
- Last Snowfall
- 23” Monday Night to Wednesday (November 25-27)
- Snowpack
- 95% of the 30-year median
- Terrain
- 15 of 23 lifts
- 78 of 181 trails
Saturday
Saturday will be yet another day with a morning temperature inversion.
On Saturday morning, temperatures at the base will be colder (0-10°F) with warmer air at the summit (20-25°F).
For the rest of Saturday, expect mostly sunny skies and warmer temperatures with a high in the low-to-mid-30s.
Also on Saturday, the Four Points Lift will be spinning with new trail openings in that area.
Sunday
Sunday will be dry, partly sunny, and cooler with a high temperature in the mid-20s. Also, winds will be a little stronger with gusts of 15-30 mph during the midday and afternoon.
Monday and Tuesday
On Monday and Tuesday, a storm will impact Colorado.
I have high confidence in the temperature forecast. The high on both days will be around 10°F. Dress warmly!
In terms of snowfall, my expectations of low. The storm's energy will be splitting as it moves across Colorado, and this should lead to lower snow totals. I think 1-3 inches is a reasonable estimate, with the highest chance of snow from Monday morning through the afternoon. From Monday night through Tuesday, clouds and snow showers will continue, and the temperature could be in the right zone to allow these snow showers to produce a few inches of additional snowfall.
From a powder perspective, I do not think that Monday or Tuesday will be powder days, but a little refresh will be nice and could soften conditions just a bit on both days.
Longer Range
I expect dry and warmer weather on Wednesday, December 11, and Thursday, December 12.
Then from Friday, December 13 to Thursday, December 19, multiple storms could bring snow to Colorado. At the moment, none of these systems look impressive, so I am keeping my expectations low. It could be worse (no storms in the forecast) and it could be better (lots of snow in the forecast).
In the meantime, we have a solid base, the low sun angle of early December will help to preserve our snowpack, and more terrain should open over the coming days and weeks, so we're in an okay spot for early December, despite the ten days of dry weather that is following Thanksgiving.
Tap below to see our forecasts:
- Steamboat Resort (9,500 ft)
- Buffalo Pass (10,200 ft)
- Rabbit Ears Pass (9,500 ft)
- Town of Hayden (6,400 ft)
My next update will be on Sunday morning.
Thanks for reading!
JOEL GRATZ
Meteorologist at OpenSnow.com