Summary
For the rest of this week and weekend (through October 21), we’ll see chilly air invade the northeast while snow showers bring light accumulations to southern Colorado. About one week later, toward the end of October, the storm track will shift with snow returning to the northwest and Rockies while cold air likely lingers in the east.
Short Term Forecast
The forecast for the next four days, through Sunday, October 21, shows a continuation of what we’ve been seeing this week. A series of cool storms will bring chilly air to New England while a nearly stationary storm over the southwest pushes light snow into parts of Utah and Colorado.
Due to the early-season snow and cool air over Colorado, both Arapahoe Basin and Loveland announced that they will open for the season.
Arapahoe Basin will open on Friday, October 19.
Loveland will open on Saturday, October 20.
Both of these mountains are usually the first to open in the country, so this late-October opening is not unusual.
Also in Colorado, Wolf Creek will be open on weekends thanks to 30+ inches of snow that fell earlier in the month.
Extended Forecast
The longer-range forecast is what piqued my interest because it shows a slight shift in the storm track.
The snow outlook for next week, Monday through Friday, October 22-26, again shows snow showers over the northeast with yet another stalled storm and light snow over Colorado. However, the big change is in the northwest, where snow looks like it will make a return after following dry weather for most of mid-October.
The 10-15 day forecast, from Saturday, October 27 through Wednesday, October 31, confirms that we could continue to see cool air (blue colors below) over the northeast, midwest, and the eastern Rockies, with a storm track bringing systems through the Pacific Northwest.
If this forecast comes to fruition, it would be good timing to help many mountains across Canada and the United States to start building their base from either natural snow or machine-made snow.
Thanks for reading and look for the next forecast on Sunday, October 21.
JOEL GRATZ
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