Snowcast: Conditions look good for near future

It’s been a wonderful three weeks for Colorado as the state switched from having a nonsnowy weather pattern in November to a consistently cool and snowy pattern for most of December.

I heard from many folks earlier this season who were worried about a repeat of last year’s low totals, and I reminded them that it takes only a few weeks of a favorable storm track for the mountains to go from almost no snow to great conditions.

And that’s what happened, although we’re still at only about 70 percent of average for this time of year.

We should see two more storms in the next week. The first one is ongoing and the second will happen next week, though the details remain uncertain.

The current storm is anchored over Colorado and will send ripples of energy across the state Thursday and Friday. The initial part of the storm favored the southern and central mountains, while the latter parts will favor the central and northern mountains.

Overall, this will be another nice snowfall, with most areas receiving 4 to 8 inches. It’s the consistent, every-few-days type of snowfall that keeps conditions good, and that’s what we’re seeing.

Further into the future, a storm will drop south out of Canada late this weekend and potentially link up with a storm moving off the Pacific Ocean. The American weather model shows these storms merging over Colorado and bringing snow to the mountains around Tuesday, while the often more accurate European model shows a different scenario, with the snow falling much later in the week. Either way, we’ll see snow — I’m just not sure when. Enjoy the powder!

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For snow forecasts for ski areas, visit OpenSnow.com.