Series of storms to potentially bring snow to Colorado’s ski areas

There is a fair chance that ski areas across Colorado could open up sometime next week, according to founding meteorologist of OpenSnow, Joel Gratz.

Based off Gratz’ forecast for next week, conditions are expected to remain warm and dry through Monday, Oct. 28, before three separate storms move into Colorado between Tuesday, Oct. 29, and Monday, Nov. 4.

The first storm is predicted to move across Colorado on Tuesday, Oct. 29 and Wednesday, Oct. 30. Gratz expects the storm to produce snow in Colorado’s southwest mountains.

Lucas Boyer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service out of the Grand Junction office, stated that this storm will be different than the one that struck recently, one which pummeled the San Juans, allowing Wolf Creek Ski Area to kick off the season on Tuesday.

“(This upcoming storm) will be diving far enough south that we pick up some nice Pacific moisture,” Boyer said. “We should see wide-spread snowfall across the mountains of Colorado starting around Monday afternoon and persisting into Wednesday as it swings through.”

He forecasted that there should be measurable snow from this storm, at least 6″. In the Roaring Fork Valley, snow levels are hovering around 7,000 feet.

“Obviously with October, it will be more of a mountain event, but I think we’ll see some snow down in the valley,” he said. “Certainly on the mountains above the Roaring Fork Valley, there will be some accumulation.

“As of now, once we get through that storm, we’ll start eyeballing another potential wave coming through next weekend, but first things first.”

This second storm, which OpenSnow has already forecasted, has the possibility of dropping flurries across the middle of Colorado or the northern mountains on Friday, Nov. 1, and Saturday, Nov. 2.

The final storm is forecast to drop snow on the northern mountain from Sunday, Nov. 3, through Monday, Nov. 4.

“One positive aspect of these storms will be the snow, which could total 8-20 inches for all three storms,” he wrote on OpenSnow.com. “That 8-20 number is a placeholder and subject to a lot of uncertainty since this is an 8+ day forecast, but that range seems reasonable for now and roughly aligns with the snow forecast map below.”

The storms are also expected to bring a drop in temperatures. Temperatures are expected to be low enough for around-the-clock snowmaking at ski areas sometime on Tuesday, Oct. 29, and will remain favorable for the rest of the week.

Once the three storms move through Colorado, Gratz currently predicts another warm and dry spell.

Aspen Times Assistant Editor Jonathan Bowers contributed to this report.