Dry conditions will prevail for another six or seven days as Colorado’s high country continues to experience a dry fall heading into mid December.

Colorado’s snowpack remains growing inconsistently, marking the third year in last five to start below median average.

But snow is forecast to return about a week before Christmas, giving the possibility of the first fresh snow in 10+ days.

Recap:

Wednesday and Thursday continued to blow snow around in the high country where a peak gust of 81 mph was recorded at the Berthoud Pass summit on Thursday around 3 p.m.

The sun shone overall too, with high temperatures in the in the low 30s at most ski areas. Luckily, the sun is about as low of angle it can be with Earth so close to the solstice that any melting is limited to south facing slopes mainly.

Colorado’s snowpack:

Another dry spell is setting up to diminish Colorado’s snowpack over the next six or seven days.

Statewide snowpack is still close to 30% below median average and is currently following a similar path during winter 2023-24. That season ended about average, however, was a strong El Nino year and also contributed to the contiguous U.S. experiencing its warmest winter on record.

Early season dryness (October and November) is possibly becoming an influencing factor in low, overall snowpack for the season.

A study published from the Colorado Climate Center said only one year in the 21st century has been cooler than the 1971-2000 average. 2012 remains the state’s warmest year in the 128-year record, at 48.3°F (3.2°F warmer than the 1971-2000 average). 

Furthermore, the greatest amount of warming in recent decades has occurred in the fall, with statewide temperatures increasing by 3.1°F from 1980-2022. 

Three of the last five fall seasons (winter 21-22, 23-24 and 25-26) have delivered below average early-season snows.

According to the Colorado Climate, fall season (Sep-Oct-Nov) temperatures have warmed more than any other season for 1980-2022, +3.1 degrees in that time frame.

Forecast:

Friday to Wednesday look bone dry across Colorado’s high country. But then a shift to storminess is forecast to come Wednesday afternoon through Friday morning.

Saturday is forecast to be windy again, with gusts on ridge tops between 60-70 mph and at the ski areas between 20-30 mph and centered along the Front Range.

On Sunday and Monday, forecasted winds are to be less, however, windy conditions are forecast to return both Tuesday and Wednesday.

Snow is forecast to develop Wednesday afternoon in the northern and west-central mountains.

Forecasted snowfall accumulations in the northern mountains are between 1-4 inches, in the central mountains between 1-7 inches with the highest amounts near Monarch Pass, and in the southern mountains between 1-4 inches with the northern San Juan Mountains picking up the majority of snow.

Long-term forecast:

Current models show some light snow showers from next Friday to Tuesday, Dec. 23, mostly in the northern mountains.

Starting Wednesday, Dec. 24, a bigger storm could impact all three mountain zones heading into Christmas Day, Dec. 25.

More model runs will need to render to hone in on snowfall totals for this potential system, including timing and duration.

Colorado ski resorts’ planned opening dates and 24-hour totals:

Arapahoe Basin – 0″

Aspen Highlands – Dec. 13

Aspen Mountain – 0″

Beaver Creek – 0″

Breckenridge – 0″

Buttermilk – Dec. 13

Cooper – 0″

Copper Mountain – 0″

Crested Butte – 0″

Echo Mountain – 0″

Eldora Mountain – 0″

Granby Ranch – 0″

Hesperus – Closed for the season

Howelsen Hill – 0″

Kendall Mountain – Dec. 13

Keystone – 0″

Loveland – 0″

Monarch – 0″

Powderhorn – 0″

Purgatory – 0″

Silverton – Guided & Heli season Dec. 27

Snowmass – 0″

Steamboat – 0″

Sunlight – 0″

Telluride – 0″

Vail – 0″

Winter Park – 0″

Wolf Creek – 0″