Friday morning temperature

With fresh snow on the ground, clear skies, and a light wind, there is a temperature inversion where readings at lower elevations are colder than at higher elevations (this is because colder air is denser and sinks to lower elevations). Over in the nearby town of Fraser, readings are near -10F but up on the mountain the temperature is 15-20F. Temperatures across the mountain will rise into the upper 20s and low 30s by early afternoon.

Weather for the next week

We’ve enjoyed new snow on 10 of 14 days so far in December, and now the atmosphere will take a break for most of the next week. The only weather action could be a few more clouds on Saturday, maybe a few snow showers on Tuesday, and then light accumulations later next week with the best chance around Saturday, December 22nd.

The outlook for Christmas and beyond

All of the longer-range models agree that the odds for snow should increase quite a bit starting within a day or two of Christmas Day and the chance for snow will continue to be high through the end of the month. Let’s hope this outlook holds! If it does, I will begin to speculate about the details of the upcoming storms when they are within the 7-day window.

Thanks for reading and check back each morning for daily updates!

JOEL GRATZ
Meteorologist at OpenSnow.com
Contact me: [email protected]

Snow conditions as of Friday morning

New snow mid-mountain:
* 0” (24 hours Thursday 500am to Friday 500am)
* 0” (Overnight Thursday 400pm to Friday 500am)

Last snowfall:
* 3” on Wednesday night (December 12)

Terrain
* 16 of 21 lifts
* 133 of 167 trails
* Latest update

Snowpack compared to 30-year average:
* 135%