It's Thursday morning and we are eagerly awaiting the next storm that will arrive within the next 24 hours.

It is very likely that we will see 4-5 storms between now and the New Year, and my hope and expectation is that snowfall from these storms will allow mountain operations crews to open a lot (or all?) of the mountain during the next week or so. Let's dig into the details…

Thursday night to Saturday morning will be Storm #1. Look for light snow on Thursday with snow ramping up somewhat on Thursday night. The most intense snow should fall from Friday morning through Saturday morning. Total snowfall should be 8-12 inches, the best powder will be on Friday and also Saturday morning, and the snow quality will be thicker due to fast winds and warm temperatures.

Saturday and Saturday night should be drier. We'll be in between storms.

Sunday and Sunday night will be Storm #2. Total snowfall should be 4-8 inches, the best powder will be on Sunday and maybe Monday morning, and the snow quality should be somewhat fluffy thanks to cooler temperatures compared to the previous storm.

Monday afternoon through Tuesday afternoon will be Storm #3. This storm now looks like it will last longer, into Tuesday, so snowfall amounts could be 3-6+ inches which is higher than the forecast I discussed yesterday. The best powder will be on Tuesday, maybe all day, and the snow quality should be pretty fluffy.

Looking farther ahead, we will see snow during many of the days between Wed, Dec 29 – Sun, Jan 2 but I do not have any confidence in the details of the forecast. Simply prepare for more snow (yay!) and we'll dial in the details when the storm(s) move closer.

Thanks for reading and please 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” Thursday Night & Friday (Dec 16-17)

Terrain
* 16 of 23 lifts
* 47 of 166 trails
* Latest update

Snowpack compared to the 30-year average:
* 69%

By the way…

The significant changes to OpenSnow that I've talked about for the last week are now live. If you're an All-Access subscriber (thank you!), you'll see no changes. If you are not an All-Access subscriber, here is an FAQ with more details about the upcoming changes, and we hope that eventually, we'll earn your support. Also, you can watch 2-3 minute videos about these changes made by myself, our Tahoe forecaster BA, and our Utah forecaster Evan. And finally, check out our Utah forecaster Evan's Twitter thread showing exactly how he uses OpenSnow's All-Access features to track powder.