#denver-snowfall

#denver-snowfall

In the mountain village of Capracotta, snowdrifts reached over five feet, burying streets and forcing residents to dig tunnels through the snow.

"As we wrap up the season, I want to thank our loyal guests who showed up smiling day in and day out to support their local hill. I also want to thank our dedicated staff whose immense efforts and pride in their work kept Eldora running all season long. We hope everyone comes to celebrate the season with us this weekend." - Andrew Gast, Eldora's president and general manager.

"We're always glad to welcome winter back, and this latest round of snow has ensured there are still great turns to be had as our spring season continues. Late season powder days are a bonus, and with the spring events and deals we have planned, it's not too late to get up here for some great skiing and riding!" - Mike Pierce, Marketing Director, Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe

The ski area had several events scheduled to celebrate the end of the season, but poor conditions have unfortunately forced a change of plans.

This season asked a lot from all of us. With the warmest winter and lowest snowpack on record, there were real challenges. But what stands out the most isn't that. It's the strength of this community and the spirit of this team.

The first wave is underway Friday and stays most productive through Saturday for the Alberta Rockies, with guidance tightly clustered on onset timing but looser on how far west the better snowfall bands reach.

Revelstoke is on track for about 19 cm to 30 cm of snow, with snow quality improving after each pulse as colder air settles in and winds generally staying manageable for skiing.

From late Saturday night through Sunday, guidance is converging on timing and warmer snow levels but diverging on intensity and ridge-top wind magnitude, with the most consistent signal for light snowfall in the northern and central ranges and limited coverage farther south. Most mountains should stay in the low single digits for accumulation during this first push, with favored terrain near the Continental Divide able to approach around 4 inches by Sunday evening.

To get back to average snowpack, we essentially need to have the most snow that we've ever had for the last 30 years between now and mid-April. It would be extremely difficult for Colorado to get back to a normal/average snowpack. As an example, when looking at the Independence Pass SNOTEL site in central Colorado outside of Aspen, we typically have 13 inches of snow-water-equivalent at the end of February. This year, we only have 6.7 inches of SWE.

The midweek stretch looks like the most reliable window for fresh turns, with the steadiest snow lining up Wednesday night into Thursday and lighter add-ons into Friday. Snow levels run a little high early, then step down late week, so snow quality should improve as the storm cycle matures. Some areas could see the next wave begin as early as Sun night (02/15), but confidence drops quickly with lead time and placement.

A busy January 5-9 stretch brings frequent light-to-moderate refreshers across the Northern Rockies, with the deepest totals focused on Idaho and the Tetons while snow quality trends better and better as the week turns colder. Snow levels start relatively higher in parts of Idaho early in the window, then steadily crash through midweek, flipping more of the precipitation to snow and boosting snow-to-liquid ratios into the 14-20:1 range for a noticeably drier, fluffier feel late Wednesday into Thursday;

Many of us are riding the high of the recent major snowstorm wondering when the next big powder day will swing through. Unfortunately for most of North America, it looks like the snowy weather won't be returning anytime soon, or at least not for the next week. Meteorologist Chris Tomer 's Mountain Weather Update paints a rather sad picture for snowfall totals in North America between January 29th and February 5th.