Wednesday was very warm with high temperatures in the 40-45F range. Now on Thursday morning, the mid-mountain temperature is still very warm, around 25-30F, and we should see these readings rise by a few degrees today. Also, expect a strong wind from the south which is blowing in advance of our next storm.

Late on Thursday afternoon, expect a period of intense snow, likely starting between 500-700 pm. This intense snow could drop 1-3 inches per hour for about 1-2 hours. Like summertime thunderstorms, the exact storm cells that make up this intense snow will be randomly placed, which means we could get a lot of snow in a short time, or the strongest cells might just miss Winter Park. If we do get the intense snow, road closures are possible due to the snow initially melting on the warm road and then rapidly freezing into a layer of ice.

Following the initial batch of intense snow on Thursday afternoon, expect snow showers to continue on Thursday night and then eventually end on Friday mid-morning. Total snowfall from Thursday afternoon through Friday mid-morning should be in the 4-8 inch range. Again, I’ll say that the initial snow on Thursday afternoon will be random, so I would not be surprised to see amounts above or below 4-8 inches, but that’s the best snow amount range I can come up.

If you enjoy powder, plan to ski on Friday morning when you’ll find fluffier snow on top of dense, thick snow that accumulated earlier in the storm.

After a break of dry weather from Friday afternoon through Saturday night, the next storm should bring snow from Sunday morning through Monday morning. This Sunday storm will be similar to the Thursday night storm in that we’ll see a period of warm temperatures and denser snow on Sunday, followed by cooling and a northwest wind on Sunday night which will bring fluffier snow. Keep your eye on Sunday afternoon and/or Monday morning for a chance of skiing soft powder.

Beyond the chance for powder on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning, expect light snow to continue through Tuesday, with dry weather during the middle of next week, and then another storm starting later next week.

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

JOEL GRATZ, Meteorologist at OpenSnow.com