Up to 4 inches of snow forecast Tuesday with next storm expected Saturday
Photo from Arapahoe Basin Ski Area
It was another good weekend for powder, with Summit County ski areas reporting as much as 11 inches of fresh snow.
Over Saturday and Sunday, Keystone Resort reported 5 inches of snow, Breckenridge Ski Resort reported 10 inches, Copper Mountain Resort reported 7 inches and Arapahoe Basin Ski Area reported 11 inches, according to On The Snow. Copper, Breckenridge and Keystone reported an additional inch Monday morning.
The holiday weekend snow brings February totals into the 3-foot range for some Summit County ski areas, including A-Basin, 36 inches, and Copper, 34 inches. Breckenridge is nearing 4 feet with 41 total inches in February. Keystone has tallied 27 inches.
A-Basin Chief Operating Officer Alan Henceroth wrote about the improving on-mountain conditions in his Saturday blog:
“Regarding conditions, for a while I had been saying, ‘We are almost there.’ Now I am say(ing), ‘We have arrived,’” Henceroth wrote.
Down in the valley, the Dillon weather station recorded 1 inch of snow Friday, Feb. 12, and 3 inches of snow Saturday, Feb. 13, according to the National Weather Service almanac.
Snowfall is expected to be lighter this week, but Summit County is still forecast to see up to 4 inches of accumulation through Tuesday night. Afterward, light snow will continue to fall on and off with a chance for more snow this weekend.
National Weather Service meteorologist Evan Direnzo said Monday through Tuesday night could bring 1-3 inches of snow to the lower elevations of Summit County, while ski resorts and other higher elevation areas could see up to 4 inches. After Tuesday night, Direnzo said 1-3 inches of snow could fall through next weekend with intermittent, light snow showers.
Open Snow meteorologist Sam Collentine said the wind direction for the Monday-Tuesday storm should be ideal for Summit County ski areas.
“We are working with cool, northwest winds and trailing storm energy,” Collentine wrote Monday in his Interstate 70 blog. “A classic storm for soft conditions along the I-70 mountain corridor.”
Snow is forecast to pick back up Saturday night, though Direnzo said it is too far out for a confident accumulation estimate.
“Through next weekend, it’s kind of just on and off light stuff, so it’s a little bit hard to say,” Direnzo said about anticipated accumulations. “But persistent rounds of light snowfall (are expected).”
Temperatures will be in the mid-20s throughout the week before warming up into mid-30s on Friday, according to Direnzo. Overnight lows are expected to dip into the single digits Tuesday through Thursday nights. Direnzo said winds will be calm this week aside from the potential for some wind gusts Thursday.
As for the Summit County snowpack, the snow-water equivalent — or the amount of water held in the snowpack — of the upper Colorado River Basin is at 87% of normal, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Map from the U.S. Department of Agriculture
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