COLORADO TO SEE ADDITIONAL SNOWFALL! WEEKEND STORM MIGHT NAIL AN EXCESS OF A FOOT FOR NM OR SOUTHEAST COLORADO
October 11, 2018
From Powderchasers
We jumped from Fall to a winter like pattern in the past several days with up to 22 inches being reported in some spots in the past 3 days.
The southern mountains of Utah were nailed earlier in the period with folks chasing to Brian Head(hiking) for what looked like legit powder! Arizona Snowbowl grabbed moderate snow. In Colorado, Silverton unoffically 1-2 FEET and Wolf Creek around 20 inches. The Wolf may start to spin lifts as early as this Saturday. Nearly every ski area in Colorado and Utah has seen decent snowfall in the past several days with the highest amounts in the 4 corners or in Northern Utah.
On Wednesday, the Wasatch woke up to winter like conditions with 3-4 inches per hour being reported in the Cottonwoods. Brighton reported 22 inches (Snow telemetry showed 12-13). We suspect the 22 was a hand measurement on a different aspect of the mountain. Little Cottonwood looked really deep Wednesday morning in the 15 inch range at the base of Snowbird. Park City scored respectable snowfall especially on the Canyons side (15 inches or more up top) who benefits from NW wind direction. We were able to get our first turns of the season with the powder pooch Noodle the doodle. Somehow to our surprise Great Divide in Montana picked up 18 inches!
Others:
Telluride 11″
Crested Butte 11 ”
Alta 15″
Sun Valley 4″
Eagle Point 12″
Beaver (The Beav) 8-12
The next 24 hours will feature additional snowfall for Colorado. Models are highlighting the area towards Grand Junction (Powderhorn) pushing moisture north perhaps into Steamboat and further south in the ranges from Aspen south. Areas around Grand Junction above 9,000 feet may score 7-10 inches where points south into Aspen or Steamboat will likely see less. Summit Countyshould stay in the 3-6 inch range, however the NWS has posted much higher amounts (lets hope it happens). Beaver Creek will likely see higher amounts with a bit more moisture towards the west but its still a wildcard.
Its currently snowing moderately in the Vail Valley with the following web cams as of 6PM. The Beaver Creek cam started at 3-4 inches this morning.
The 4 corners including Purgatory may fall short, however Wolf Creek could sneak out another 4-7 inches with a bit of luck. If moisture stays north the amounts will be less there.
If you are chasing powder in Colorado the highest amounts will fall during the day Thursday with a 2nd push of additional light or moderate snow in the evening. I would aim for Thursday PM or Friday AM.
GFS forecast through Friday am. (image courtesy of Weatherbell)
EXTENDED FORECAST
In the extended forecast, an interesting feature of cold air and moisture associated with a shortwave trough diving southward toward the Rockies in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado on Sunday. This may bring significant snowfall to locations favored by north or NE flow (upslope). Taos is a wildard, where Ski Santa Fe and areas closer to the east side of the mountain ranges will see decent snowfall. There is considerable disagreement in the models still, being 4 days out. Areas in southern Colorado near or south of Colorado Springs (Pikes Peak range) will also score, unfortunately this is not optimal for most ski areas. Depending on how far east the storm tracks its possible to see snowfall from Monarch Pass (east side is favored) to Wolf Creek (Wildcard). Expect another powder alert to be issued closer to the weekend for some spots in the 4 corners favoring NM and southern CO as models converge.
Possible scenario for next week in New Mexico. (image courtesy of Tropical Tidbits)
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Powderchaser Steve
