Monday was a partly sunny day with high temperatures between 35-40F and we also saw a few snow showers during the very late afternoon and early evening hours (though no snow accumulated).

Today, Tuesday, should be a beautiful day with plenty of sunshine and high temperatures in the 30s.

Wednesday will be even warmer, with highs in the 40s, along with the chance for more clouds than on Tuesday. Clouds matter in the spring-time forecast because their presence or absence helps to determine at what time the harder snow surface in the morning (due to the colder overnight temperatures) with soften. If we see lots of sunshine early in the day, the snow surface should soften early in the morning and temperatures will quickly rise, but if we see more clouds, the snow surface could stay harder later into the morning/midday.

On Wednesday night and Thursday, a storm over the west coast will send the first batch of energy toward Colorado. Expect more clouds and some showers during this time, but likely NOT steady snowfall. Temperatures will be warm and any showers that do hit Winter Park could fall as raindrops near the lower part of the mountain.

On Thursday night, the first part of the storm will move over Winter Park, and this will bring steadier snow and colder temperatures. We should be able to grab 3-6 inches from this first part of the storm, and that means we could have powder on Friday morning.

Following this first batch of snow, we should see dry weather from midday Friday through Saturday.

Then the second batch of energy should bring colder air and more intense snowfall between Saturday night and Monday morning. Perhaps we’ll see an additional 3-6 inches of snow during this time, and Sunday and/or Monday morning could offer fresh powder.

The forecast from Wednesday night through Monday morning is very uncertain, so please take this as an initial draft of the forecast and expect changes as the storm gets closer.

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

JOEL GRATZ, Meteorologist at OpenSnow.com