On Saturday, expect clouds to thicken during the day, with light snow beginning during the afternoon or early evening. On Saturday night, snow will likely intensify, and I think you’ll wake up on Sunday morning to 3-6 inches of fresh powder with light snow continuing to fall through mid-morning on Sunday.

The positives about this storm are that it will bring a wind from the west and northwest (favorable for Steamboat) and will also bring adequate moisture, which is necessary to create intense snowfall. The negatives about this storm are that it will only last for 12 hours, and the best storm energy will likely track to the south of Steamboat.

Plan to wake up early on Sunday, look at the snow report, look at the snow-stake webcam to see how much snow accumulated since the 5 am report, and then get there and ski the fresh snow. There is a chance that we will get closer to double-digit totals if the wind direction blows more from the west instead of the north, but this is a wildcard and I don’t know exactly what will happen. That’s why weather prediction and skiing powder is so much fun – the uncertainty and the surprise!

From Sunday evening through Tuesday morning I think we’ll see dry weather, then the next storm will bring snow sometime between late Tuesday through Friday, January 12th. It’s possible that light-to-moderate snow will fall off-and-on during this time, which should make snow conditions softer and deeper with the best powder possible on Thursday.

Following that storm, expect dry weather for about five days, with a stormier period likely beginning around Thursday, January 18th.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for an update each morning!

JOEL GRATZ, Meteorologist at OpenSnow.com