Summit County's weather pattern may finally be changing, forecasters said, as yet another snowstorm moved into the county Friday morning.

This one might be the big one. (Although hopefully we're not jinxing it by saying so.)

The system is expected to dump between 8 and 16 inches of snow by Sunday morning, according to National Weather Service forecasts.

“It's actually looking like a pretty good snow event,” NWS meteorologist David Barjenbruch said Friday. “This will be one of the better ones of this season so far.”

Summit County is under a winter storm warning until noon Sunday, and a high wind warning is in place until 5 p.m. today.

The county saw moderate to heavy snowfall throughout the day Friday, which may continue with light snow showers today. The heaviest snow is expected to fall tonight between 4 p.m. and midnight, when accumulation could get up to an inch an hour.

The storm is expected to move out by Sunday afternoon, but could be followed by more snow Monday and another system next weekend, forecasters said.

“We've certainly changed the weather pattern up,” Barjenbruch said. “We're going to get much more snowfall. Perhaps by next weekend there might be another system that comes in.”

With the snow will come colder temperatures, with highs in the 30s today and overnight lows in the single digits. The mercury is only expected to climb into the teens or low on Sunday.

The wind will continue today, concluding a week of blowing snow and blizzard conditions. Gusts are expected to reach 70 mph on the peaks before dying down tonight.

Ski areas opening more terrain

Breckenridge Ski Resort has reported 14 inches of new snow in the last week, Copper Mountain has had 9, Keystone Resort, 8 and Arapahoe Basin Ski Area received 9 inches in the last three days.

The late, but still welcome, natural snow combined with the fruits of a season of snowmaking efforts has finally enabled resorts to begin opening advanced and upper terrain.

Breckenridge opened the T-bar and 6 chair Friday, and Copper is slated to open the Resolution Chair with access to Cross Cut and Cabin Chute today. Both Copper and Keystone are looking to drop the ropes on additional trails and terrain with this weekend's storm.

“We're excited about the prospect of some big snow totals that will only improve our already great conditions,” Keystone spokeswoman Laura Parquette said. “Everyone on the mountain definitely has an eye on the forecast and the sky. We'll continue to assess new terrain throughout the weekend …”

But the new snow and high wind events this week have spiked the avalanche danger in the backcountry to considerable. Even with below-average snow pack this season, slides big enough to bury and kill a human can be triggered on north-, east- and south-facing slopes steeper than 30 degrees, according to forecasts from the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

More information and up-to-date weather forecasts are available online at www.weather.gov. For avalanche forecasts and information go to www.avalanche.state.co.us.