Thursday's storm did not take an ideal track to bring snow to Steamboat because the wind direction was from the north and east. The best wind direction for Steamboat is from the west and west-northwest. Still, we managed to eek out 2 inches of snow, and I'll take the flakes!

The really, really, really good news is that the next few storms should bring a wind direction from the west, and thus Steamboat has the chance to see a lot of snow through Christmas Day and beyond.

The first storm will bring snow from Friday night through Saturday evening. Expect 8-16 inches by the time the storm winds down on Saturday evening. You will find powder on Saturday, and there could be a time of very intense snowfall on Saturday afternoon when a cold front passes or stalls over Steamboat, so Sunday morning powder is a very real possibility.

Following the Saturday storm, Sunday should be dry, then the next storm will bring snow from Sunday night through Monday night with at least another 4-8 inches of accumulation. Expect snow to be falling when you wake up on Christmas morning, and there will be powder to ski on Christmas Day.

Then we should see additional chances for snow every 1-3 days through next week and into early January, though I won't be able to offer a detailed forecast for the timing and amount of snow until about three days in advance of each system. I'll keep you posted with a new update each morning!

JOEL GRATZ, Meteorologist at OpenSnow.com