Helpful Links

• Steamboat Snow Report
• Steamboat Cams
• Weather Radar (poor coverage around Steamboat!)

Conditions

• New Snow (Mid Mountain snow stake)
  • 1” Thursday 500am to Friday 500am (24 hours)
  • 0” Thursday 500pm to Friday 500am (12 hours)

• New Snow (Summit snow stake)
  • 1” Thursday 500am to Friday 500am (24 hours)
  • 0” Thursday 500pm to Friday 500am (12 hours)

• Last Snowfall
  • 4-6” Wednesday Night & Thursday (Jan 1-2)

• Snowpack
  • 104% of the 30-year median

• Terrain
  • 21 of 23 lifts
  • 165 of 184 trails

Storm Recap

The storm from Wednesday night through Thursday only delivered 4-6 inches of snow across the mountain. This was on the lower end of my expectation, and somewhat matches a past pattern where warming temperatures during a storm lead to lower-end snow totals.

Friday

Friday morning will start with an inversion as the temperature is colder near the base and warmer (20s) at the summit.

Friday will be dry, sunny, and warmer with a high temperature of 30-35°F.

Saturday & Sunday

Saturday will be dry and mostly cloudy through midday with a high temperature in the mid-to-upper 20s.

On Saturday afternoon, snow will fall, and there could be a few inches of accumulation by the last chair. 

On Saturday night, snow will continue to fall and temperatures will cool, which should lead to 3-6 inches of fluffy accumulation.

On Sunday morning, I expect that there will be 4-8 inches of fluffy snow (the combination of snow from Saturday afternoon and Saturday night) and there might be some more accumulation during the morning. 

The storm responsible for this snowfall will rapidly strengthen just to the east of Colorado, and this can lead to more snow than expected due to abundant moisture lingering behind the storm and cooling temperatures. However, the temperature will be a bit warmer than is ideal for Steamboat, and the wind direction could be from the northwest, which is not ideal either (from the west or west-northwest is ideal).

To summarize, there should be fluffy powder on Sunday morning with 4-8 inches being the most likely range, though of course, watch the snow stake cams to see if there is an upside surprise.

Sunday's temperature will be in the teens - not too cold, not too warm.

Longer Range

Monday should be mostly cloudy with snow showers and a high temperature in the teens.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday will also have high temperatures in the teens. There could be snow showers each day, though I do not expect significant snowfall.

The next chance for more significant snow could be around Sunday, January 12 through about Wednesday, January 15. This is two weeks away, so the storm is still uncertain. Stay tuned.

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 Saturday morning.

Thanks for reading!

JOEL GRATZ
Meteorologist at OpenSnow.com