Snow in the weekend ski forecast

It feels great to see the mountains covered in snow, and a few more storms are on the way over the coming week!

Last weekend was the first storm of the new weather pattern of cooler temperatures and chances for snow every few days. In this new pattern, storms will take a more direct path across the country rather than hitting the west coast and then arcing north toward Canada and the northern Rockies. Totals from the snow that fell on Saturday night through Sunday reached 15 inches for Aspen and Monarch and most other locations saw 6-12 inches. After a snowless four weeks, this one storm will not open a ton of new terrain, but it was the first in a series of storms that should bring consistent snow and cold over the coming week, and consistency is what we really need.

The next storm arrives on Friday and snow should last through the weekend. The initial batch of moisture will head in from the southwest and slam into the southern San Juan mountains on Friday. Wolf Creek should have a powder day on Friday with up to a foot of snow falling, and good amounts will also accumulate at Durango and Silverton. A southwest wind is not favorable for snow for the rest of the state, but the wind will switch around to blow from the west by Friday night and this will increase the snowfall for the northern two thirds of Colorado. There will be light snow on Saturday through Sunday, though it’s difficult to pin down exactly where and how much snow will fall because the storm is coming through in multiple pieces.

UPDATE: The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for the central mountains, but not the ski areas of Summit and Eagle counties (where only a few inches are expected), from 2 a.m. Friday through 2 a.m. Saturday. Forecasters expect up to 10 inches at Monarch Pass, so that ski area's Friday opening could be a powder day!

I do know that if there is a break in the weather, it will come on Saturday night. And then another storm will arrive for Sunday night and will target the northern half of Colorado.

With this new storm track and two weeks of good snow, most mountains should have a lot of skiable terrain by the time the holiday week rolls around, and if you’re jonesin’ for some powder, there will be opportunities before then!