Summit County Citizens Voice

San Juans favored again; only a few inches expected in the Summit-Vail area

Opening day turns at Copper Mountain.

Although the Aspen areas aren't officially reporting snow totals yet, it looks like the storm early in the weekend dropped some significant snow in the area, as some locals took to the mountains for the first freshies of the year. PHOTO COURTESY G.R. FIELDING, VIA TWITTER.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — As expected, the weekend storm favored the San Juans, where Wolf Creek reported 12 inches of new snow. The storm came in warm on a southwest flow, and many stations reported slushy conditions early during the storm cycle, which will help boost the water content in the southwestern mountains.

It snowed hard in the north-central mountains, but only for a few hours, with Keystone, A-Basin and Copper all reporting 2 inches of new snow Sunday morning. A somewhat moist westerly flow could bring a few more inches to high-elevation west-facing slopes before the storm clears out Sunday afternoon, leading to chilly overnight readings. Many spots will see low temps fall into the single-digits.

Monday should bring a bit of a warmup as southwesterly flow kicks in ahead of the next storm system digging down the California coast.But overall, conditions are expected to remain rather winter-like, with highs staying below freezing, in the mid to upper 2os, and lows hovering in the teens and single digits through mid-week. Average highs for this time of year in Frisco and Dillon are in the mid-40s.

The low will move inland and across the Four Corners bringing moisture on a southerly flow that will once again favor the San Juans, including Wolf Creek, which could pick up another 2 to 5 inches Monday, according to the zone-specific forecasts from the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

As the storm moves east, the National Weather Service says the system could tap into some Gulf Moisture, potentially bringing some rains to drought-stricken Texas — and perhaps some wrap-around moisture to generate snow on north-facing slopes in the Summit-Vail area. A-Basin and Loveland could be favored for a few more inches under this scenario.

Look for a drying trend starting Tuesday and continuing past mid-week, with the next Pacific storm forecast to start moving ashore Friday, but forecast details are still sketchy.

Filed under: climate and weather, Colorado, Snow and weather, Summit County snow and weather Tagged: | Colorado, Colorado skiing, Colorado weather, snow report