Colorado mountains receive varying snow totals, with some delivering on forecasts while others missed out

Snowfall from Tuesday to Thursday morning delivered roughly 0-9 inches across Colorado’s mountains — less than expected for some northern resorts, while areas south of Interstate 70 saw snow totals within the ranges provided by forecasts.

The deepest totals were in the central mountains, with Crested Butte receiving 8 inches of snow while Aspen and Snowmass got 4 and 6 inches, respectively. The northern mountains were on the lower end of this storm’s snowfall, with the highest total coming from Steamboat at 4.5 inches.

Earlier this week, OpenSnow meteorologists predicted the storm’s snow totals would be in the 3-8 inch range across ski resorts, with the northern mountains seeing a larger share. While several mountains saw snowfall within that range, others like Vail, Breckenridge, Copper and Keystone saw less than expected.

Another round of snow should deliver 2-6 inches to some mountains from Friday late morning through Friday at midnight. After a drier weekend, the next storm will likely arrive between Feb. 17-18.

“It’s unlikely that this soft snow will be deep, but after 2-3 weeks of dry weather, we’ll take any soft snow that we can get,” OpenSnow Founding Meteorologist Joel Gratz said in the Wednesday report.

The snow line is still hovering around 7,000-8,000 feet, according to OpenSnow, so lower valleys will continue to see rain rather than snow.

Here’s how much snow fell between Tuesday through Thursday morning, according to a Wednesday report from OpenSnow:

Irwin: 9 inches
Crested Butte: 8 inches
Snowmass: 6 inches
Powderhorn: 5 inches
Steamboat Resort: 4.5 inches
Aspen Mountain: 4 inches
Buttermilk: 4 inches
Winter Park: 3 inches
Beaver Creek: 2 inches
Vail Mountain: 2 inches
Breckenridge Ski Resort: 1 inch
Copper Mountain: 1 inch
Sunlight: 1 inch
Arapahoe Basin Ski Area: 0.5 inch
Keystone Resort: 0.5 inch
Loveland Ski Area: 0.5 inch