Colorado Politics

Colorado snowpack still at all-time low after weekend snow

The big snow of the last few days has come and gone, and Colorado is set to move forward into the end of January while it continues to set new all-time low records in terms of snowpack.

Per the National Weather Service, some spots did get big snow since Friday. Mountains west of Crested Butte got a reported 23 inches, Monarch Pass got 14 inches in some areas, and Wolf Creek Pass ended up with about 12. Most places, however, ended up with snow totals in the range of the agency’s low-end to “expected” snowfall forecast opposed to anything close to possible “high-end” accumulations.

The USDA reports that as of Jan. 26, Colorado’s snowpack sits at just 58 percent of what’s typical for the date – and there’s not much snow on the horizon. It’s looking like the next chance of notable snow comes around Feb. 10, and even then, long-term forecasts seem to indicate that this prediction could be a bit shaky.

The snow-water equivalent of Colorado’s snowpack currently sits at about 5.2 inches statewide, behind the previous all-time low for the date of 5.6 inches. The current record-low for statewide snowpack by Feb. 10 is 6.7 inches, and it’s highly unlikely that Colorado will be adding much snowpack to the ground between now and then.

That said, there is some fresh powder that’s landed over the last 48 hours. While OnTheSnow data shows that no spot got double-digit accumulation over the last couple of days, here’s a look at how much fresh snow landed at ski areas around the state between Saturday and Sunday:

  • Arapahoe Basin Ski Area: 3 inches
  • Aspen Highlands: 4 inches
  • Aspen Mountain: 7 inches
  • Beaver Creek: 4 inches
  • Breckenridge: 4 inches
  • Buttermilk: 2 inches
  • Cooper: 2 inches
  • Copper Mountain: 3 inches
  • Crested Butte Mountain Resort: 0 inches
  • Echo Mountain: 0 inches
  • Eldora Mountain Resort: 6 inches
  • Granby Ranch: 1 inches
  • Howelsen Hill: 2 inches
  • Keystone: 1 inches
  • Loveland Ski Area: 3 inches
  • Monarch Mountain: 4 inches
  • Powderhorn: 1 inches
  • Purgatory: 1 inches
  • Silverton Mountain: 3 inches
  • Snowmass: 9 inches
  • Steamboat: 6 inches
  • Sunlight Mountain Resort: 2 inches
  • Telluride: 3 inches
  • Vail: 4 inches
  • Winter Park: 6 inches
  • Wolf Creek Ski Area: 8 inches

Find additional weather forecasting information on the National Weather Service website.


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