Colorado Daily Snow

Heads up, there may be fresher snow! Read the latest Colorado Daily Snow

By Joel Gratz, Founding Meteorologist Posted 9 years ago September 19, 2014

Summary:

Friday and Saturday will be good days with just a few afternoon showers over the mountains. Sunday evening through Monday night should be the wettest time with numerous showers over the entire state. On Tuesday a few showers will hang on, then Wednesday and Thursday should be mostly dry. A cold storm will likely hit Colorado next weekend with valley rain and mountain snow Saturday night through Sunday the 28th.

Details:

Thursday was a nice day across Colorado with clouds popping up over the mountains during the afternoon but few if any rain showers coming out of those clouds.

Friday will offer a better chance of afternoon showers as we'll have more moisture and some storm energy moving through during the afternoon. The Friday morning radar image showers showers along a band of storm energy from northern Utah into Wyoming, and this will move through Colorado during Friday afternoon. Again, there won't be many showers, but there will be a few during the afternoon and evening hours.

colorado weather forecast

Friday 8am radar image. Source: Weathertap.com

Saturday will be a nice day, similar to Friday. Most areas will be dry while a few clouds and storms pop up over the mountains. Saturday will be the nicer of the two weekend days.

Moisture will begin to surge into Colorado from the southwest on Sunday afternoon, and this combined with the cut-off storm moving closer to Colorado will bring rain showers from Sunday evening through Tuesday evening. The best chance of heavier, steady rain will be Sunday evening through midday Monday, then expect scattered afternoon showers both on Monday and Tuesday for the northern half of Colorado.

colorado snow

A storm that is cut-off from the main flow of weather will bring rain to Colorado on Sunday evening through Tuesday evening. Source: Weatherbell.com

Next Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday should be dry and beautiful September days with just a low chance for a mountain shower each day.

Then we get to have some fun next weekend. If this forecast weather pattern were to occur in the heart of winter, I'd be getting excited for a Sunday (September 28th) powder for much of state, especially around Wolf Creek, Durango, and Silverton. But alas, it's still September, so we won't be riding deep powder, though we can still have some fun talking about snow and cold air.

Most models agree that a trough (or storm) will impact the western US next weekend. Based on the slower forecast given by the often more correct European model, and based on this upcoming weekend's storm which is moving slowly, I'll give the nod to the slower forecasts for the cold storm in two weekends. This would mean that Friday the 26th is dry, then the heaviest rain and snow would fall Saturday night through Sunday the 28th. Of course this is 9 days out so the timing could vary, but overall at least next Sunday looks cool, wet and/or snowy with some precipitation possible on Saturday as well.

colorado weather

The forecast for next weekend (September 27-28) shows the likelihood of a storm over the western US. Each line is a possible path for the storm, so while I'm confident that we'll see some rain, snow, and colder air, the exact details are still very uncertain. Source: Environment Canada

If the storm during the last weekend of September comes through as advertised, snow levels could fall down to 10,000 or so, bringing flakes to many ski areas. I'm concerned that wind from the storm could strip the golden aspen leaves from their branches, but if some of them manage to hang on, there could be beautiful views during the last few days of September with snow on the peaks and golden trees at mid slope.

The European model is forecasting general storminess for the western US / Canada during the first part of October, and while this long range forecast is out in "fantasy land", running the odds would show that Colorado could have another one or two cool storms early during the 10th month of the year. It's about time we get back to a weather pattern that's fun to talk about!

JOEL GRATZ

PS - If you like the laid-back feel at some of the smaller Colorado resorts, check out the GEMS card which is now on sale and allows you to get 2-for-1 lift tickets at eight Colorado mountains.
http://www.coloradoski.com/Gems

About Our Forecaster

Joel Gratz

Founding Meteorologist

Joel Gratz is the Founding Meteorologist of OpenSnow and has lived in Boulder, Colorado since 2003. Before moving to Colorado, he spent his childhood as a (not very fast) ski racer in eastern Pennsylvania.

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