Though winter has been off to a dry start, Colorado’s high country welcomed snow this week. A recent storm dusted the mountains with fresh powder, with some areas of the San Juans getting a more generous amount of around 4-8 inches. As of Wednesday morning, the eight ski areas open in the state had each received 1-7 inches of snow.
More fresh powder is in the forecast for later in the week, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Brianna Bealo in Grand Junction. After a long stretch of warm weather, with the state’s snowpack far below normal, it’s actually starting to feel like winter.
“Within the last week or so, we've kind of moved into this more stormy, wetter pattern,” Bealo said, “so we're finally starting to see snow starting to accumulate on our mountains.”
She expects Thursday and Friday could see snowfall across much of the state, including Denver, making it the city’s latest snowfall of the season on record. In western Colorado, Grand Junction could also get its first snow of the season this week.
This fresh powder will be welcomed by skiers at several resorts opening this week across the mountains. Purgatory could see 5 more inches of snow this week, while Powderhorn, outside of Grand Junction, and Monarch Mountain, outside of Salida, are forecast to each get about 4 more inches. Steamboat could receive about 2 more inches. Wolf Creek is only forecast to get about 2 additional inches but already received 7 earlier this week.
Though it’s hard to predict more than a week in advance, Bealo said this much-needed snow could pose a problem for people traveling for Thanksgiving. Another storm is forecast to sweep through the high country around the holiday, slowing traffic and potentially closing some high-elevation passes. Bealo recommends that if you plan to travel around the holiday, you should stay flexible — and constantly aware of the forecast, which could quickly change.
“As my mother would say: ‘Pack your patience in your pocket,’” she said.
