Wednesday was a beautiful day with blue, sunny skies and crisp temperatures that stayed in the single digits and teens on the upper mountain.

Now on Thursday morning, it's opening day! Temperatures are actually a little warmer at the top of the mountain (~10°F) and cooler at the lower elevation (~0°F). For the rest of Thursday, look for sunshine all day and high temperatures rising into the 20s on the hill.

Friday, December 4 through about Thursday, December 10 will be dry, mostly sunny, and warmer than average with daytime high temperatures in the 30s. This week of dry weather is not what we’d like, but it’s going to happen and we just have to make the best of it. Enjoy the sunshine, put on sunscreen, and go make some turns:-)

The next chance for a storm will be around Friday, December 11, and maybe into Saturday, December 12. A storm from the northwest and a storm from the southwest will simultaneously track toward Colorado. If these storms combine over Colorado, we could see a lot of snow. If each of the storms track just north or south of Colorado, we could see little or no snow. Of course, I am hoping for the former scenario with a lot of snow. I’ll keep you updated.

Following the possible storm around December 11-12, there is a chance that additional systems could bring flakes to Colorado through the following week. This is over two weeks away and out in the “fantasy land” of longer-range forecasts, but I wanted to mention it anyway as we could use a positive snow story to keep us hungry and motivated for the powder that will eventually come.

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

JOEL GRATZ
Meteorologist at OpenSnow.com

Snow conditions as of Thursday morning

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

Last snowfall:
* 6” Monday Night to Tuesday (Dec 1)

Terrain
* 8 of 23 lifts
* 20 of 166 trails
* Latest update

Snowpack compared to the 30-year average:
* 104%