Spring snow conditions will persist Friday and through the weekend ahead of a multi-day/multiple-storm snow event starting Monday.
Skiers and riders should expect freeze/thaw cycles each day from mid-mountain to summits at the remaining open Colorado resorts through the weekend, with the potential for base areas to stay above freezing each night.
Snow for Tuesday, Thursday and Monday, April 22 of the following week.
Recap:
On Thursday, temperatures warmed into the 40s in Colorado's mountains. Copper Mountain recorded a high of 46 according to AccuWeather records from Wednesday. Other areas saw similar high temperatures as more melting happened around the base areas.
Forecast:
On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, high temperatures around Colorado's mountains will reach into the mid 40s and low 50s. Crunchy snow will greet you to start the day, but soften by late morning and even be slushy by early afternoon, especially on south facing slopes.
Long Range:
At what could be the last major snow event of the 2023-24 winter, winter returns next week for a sizeable snow event, especially for northern Colorado.
The first of two waves of snow begins Monday in western Colorado, with heavier snow starting to move further into the state Monday evening, ramping up overnight into Tuesday. The 18-hour period is forecast to be a moderate to heavy snow event, with possible accumulations between 4-12 inches and the potential of 18-plus inches on the Front Range mountains north of Interstate 70.
There is still some disagreement between the models about how much and where the snow will fall, however.
The ECMWF and GFS models have more snow accumulating in the northern Front Range mountains where as the ICON model has more snow accumulations in Summit County and the central mountains.
ECMWF model:
ICON model:
GFS model:
The consensus shows snow will be heaviest from Cameron Pass to Berthoud and Loveland passes.
First chairs on Tuesday in the southern mountains should offer between 2-5 inches while the central and northern mountains between 6-10 inches, with Winter Park and Summit County near the Continental Divide seeing the most snow.
Snow will end Tuesday afternoon before wandering back into northwestern Colorado Wednesday early morning.
The area of low pressure associated with Monday's and Tuesday's snow will be pushed east into the Great Lake while a second low pressure in Montana pushes bands of moisture into northern Colorado Wednesday morning into Thursday.
Snow accumulations in the northern mountains for Thursday's first chairs range between 2-4 inches.
From Friday to Sunday, what looked like snow for Colorado has turned into a lull between storms.
The ECMWF high resolution 240h model has little to no snow forecast for Colorado from Friday through Sunday. But starting Sunday night into Monday, the snow gates appear to be opening up as a low pressure system makes its way on land over central California, pushing out ahead of it moisture across the Great Basin and into Colorado.
More details will be collected over the next few days to see what affects this system will have on Colorado and potential snows around the state.
Today's 24 hour snow totals from Colorado resorts:
Arapahoe Basin - 0"
Aspen Mountain - 0"
Aspen Highlands - Closed for season
Beaver Creek - 0"
Breckenridge - 0"
Buttermilk - Closed for season
Cooper - Closed for season
Copper Mountain - 0"
Crested Butte - Closed for season
Echo Mountain - 0"
Eldora Mountain - 0"
Granby Ranch - Closed for season
Hesperus - Closed for season
Howelsen Hill - Closed for season
Kendall Mountain - Closed for season
Keystone - Closed for season
Loveland - 0"
Monarch - 0"
Powderhorn - Closed for season
Purgatory - 0"
Silverton - 0"
Snowmass - 0"
Steamboat - 0"
Sunlight - Closed for season
Telluride - Closed for season
Vail - 0"
Winter Park - 0"
Wolf Creek - Closed for season
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