Report

On Thursday night, about 2 inches of snow accumulated at the mid-mountain snow stake.

Snow Friday through Saturday morning

Expect 4-8 inches during this time, with steadier snow from Friday mid-morning through the afternoon, and showers continuing through Saturday morning. The rain/snow line should be around 8,000-9,000 feet, which would translate to dense, thick snow for most of the mountain and rain likely staying below the base elevation of 9,000 feet. Also, as colder air will be just to the east of the continental divide, some if it could ooze over to Winter Park, so temperatures could be a bit colder than forecast. The best times to find powder will be through the day on Friday and the first chair on Saturday morning.

Warming on Saturday

We could see a mix of sun, clouds, and showers on Saturday. Temperatures will warm into the 40s with a snow level rising to 10,000-11,000 feet, so only the upper 1/2 of the mountain could see snowflakes, with raindrops at lower elevations.

Intense precipitation Saturday night

This is a monster storm as measured by moisture, which will be about 400% of average for this date. Expect intense snow on the upper half of the mountain, and, I’m sorry to say, the chance for intense rain at the base. The rain/snow line should be near 10,500 feet, so the highest parts of the mountain could see 4-8+ inches of snow with raindrops possible closer to the base. On Sunday morning, you will find fresh, dense snow on the upper half of the mountain, and the most intense precipitation should be over.

Showers Sunday and Sunday night

We’ll see slightly cooler air on Sunday with a few inches of snow from midday and afternoon showers. Then colder air will arrive on Sunday night and we could have 2-6 inches of fluffier snow by Monday morning. It could be that Monday morning has the best snow quality.

Longer range

Winter Park will be open through Sunday, April 29th, and we’ll see more snow by then. The storm around April 11th has disappeared from the forecast (it will track to our north), but a colder storm should bring snow between Thursday night to Saturday midday, April 12-14. And another cold storm could then bring snow between about April 15-18.

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

JOEL GRATZ, Meteorologist at OpenSnow.com