Report From Powderchasers

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF POWDERCHASERS!   Thanks to our sponsors and concierge members that keep your powder dreams alive all season.  Special Thanks Beaver MountainSki Ride Tours, and Snowshark for supporting us this season.  The IKON Pass goes up in price in just 4 days so use this link to renew or purchase now.

If your jonsing for Pow there are a few opportunities this weekend.  Very warm spring-like (75-80 degrees in many metro areas this Saturday) will cool by Sunday.  Cold air is showing up in the models for southern Montana (Powder versus mank) for Saturday night/Sunday, especially over the Red Lodge Mountain Ski area (Open).  NE winds favor that region and may produce 9-14 inches of snow for your Sunday wake up call.  Its hard to predict what the surface below the new snow will ride like.  If it comes in warm enough initially you may find a deep cushion with pow.  If not, expect firmer bottoms.

Below: Wildcard pick of the weekend.  NE winds favor Red Lodge Mountain Ski area that will be opening for a bonus weekend.  Snow will likely be falling Saturday PM through late Sunday.

In Colorado, the GFS models are still bullish for significant snowfall for the Continental Divide Sunday-Monday.   The Euro is less bullish.  When combining multiple models (Ensembles) there is no clear consensus on how deep areas along the Divide will be for your last turns Sunday or first turns Monday. It’s likely that light amounts may be found for your last chair Sunday (upper peaks) with higher odds of dense snow for Monday morning. If the GFS proves correct, expect 5-10 inches for the higher elevations of mountains closest to the Divide on Monday morning (Above 10K feet).  The Euro brings less snow to the Divide and more snow east and south of Denver.  Temperatures remain on the warm side with 10K foot ranges from 27-30 degrees (Base of Loveland Ski Area).  Snow quality may be decent at the summits (13K) albeit dense Monday.  Ski areas west of the Divide will be warmer.  Snow may continue into Tuesday (Wildcard).

Below: The bullish GFS shows up to 2 inches of water for the Continental Divide Sunday PM through Tuesday.  Warm temps will bring snow ratios down but could equal 12-20 inches if all optimism pans out.  The Euro shows less.  Warm temps will keep quality on the dense side (Upper peaks might be decent).  With model discrepency it’s still unclear if this will pan out.

This forecast is going to be updated on Saturday or Sunday morning.  It’s worth a watch for Colorado for late Sunday or Monday.  Some snow in Colorado may continue into Monday night.   Perhaps you drive to Montana for Sunday and Colorado for Monday.

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