Weather
This forecast was created at 8 p.m. PST on November 15, 2025.
Colorado’s high country picks up a healthy pair of early season storms this week, with the biggest totals aimed at the southern San Juans and the Steamboat area while the I-70 and Front Range resorts see smaller but steady refreshes. A first wave Sunday night into Monday lays down a few inches across most open I-70 hills and as much as 6″–8″ at Steamboat, Wolf Creek and Telluride, followed by a colder midweek system that adds several more inches for the central and northern mountains and delivers another 8″–13″ at Wolf Creek and 7″–11″ at Telluride. Snow levels stay near or below the main base elevations after Sunday, and snow to liquid ratios climb into the 12–16:1 range with the midweek system, so snow quality trends from medium density base building early in the week toward lighter, more powdery turns later, especially at Loveland, Arapahoe Basin, Winter Park and the southern ranges. The pattern then stays unsettled into the run up to Thanksgiving with temperatures near or a bit above seasonal averages, pointing toward continued periodic mountain snow and gradual base building rather than a prolonged dry stretch.
A warm and dry pattern yields to a cooler, unsettled stretch beginning Sunday night as a low-pressure system lifts into Colorado from the southwest. Snow first spreads into the San Juan Mountains late Sunday, then reaches the central and northern mountains Sunday night into early Monday as the core of the system swings across the Rockies. Snow levels start relatively high, around 9,000 to 10,000 feet, and then fall toward 7,000 to 8,000 feet by daybreak on Monday, so mid- and upper-mountain terrain picks up accumulating snow. At the same time, a few of the lowest bases see wetter flakes at the onset, especially around Steamboat. Snow-to-liquid ratios during this Sunday night to Monday window generally fall in the 11–13:1 range across most resorts, with slightly denser snow near Steamboat, which means medium-density but very skiable snow that is ideal for building an early-season base. Southwest and west winds increase with this first wave, and ridgetop gusts can exceed 40 miles per hour along portions of the Continental Divide and in the San Juans, which will leave some exposed slopes a bit wind-affected by Monday while loading leeward aspects with drifts.
The Sunday night to Monday snow favors the northern Park Range and the San Juan Mountains for the deepest accumulations, with lighter but still useful amounts for the I-70 and Front Range resorts. Steamboat stands out with about 6″–8″ by Monday night thanks to strong orographic lift in the Park Range, a very solid base builder ahead of its November 22 opening, while nearby Winter Park sees only a light refresh of around an inch or two. Across the southern mountains, Wolf Creek collects roughly 5″–7″ and Telluride around 4″–6″ through Monday from this first system, with Crested Butte and Snowmass picking up a few inches that quietly deepen the base at their higher elevations. Along the I-70 corridor and Front Range, open resorts such as Arapahoe Basin, Loveland, Copper Mountain, Breckenridge, and Vail, along with closed hills like Beaver Creek and Monarch, generally see a couple of inches or less from this wave, enough to freshen groomers and blend into the existing man-made base rather than dramatically changing conditions. Temperatures on Monday are expected to run in the mid-20s to near 30 degrees at the bases, with teens and low 20s at higher elevations. This should allow new snow to bond reasonably well without significant melt on the open pistes.
A second, colder system arrives Tuesday and lingers through Friday, most strongly impacting the southern mountains before spreading lighter snow northward along the Divide midweek. From Tuesday through Friday, Wolf Creek is the big winner with another 8″–13″ on top of the first storm, for a weekly total near 13″–20″, while nearby Telluride adds roughly 7″–11″ in that same Tuesday to Friday window and ends the period with about 11″–16″ overall. Snow levels with this second wave start near 8,500 to 9,000 feet, then steadily fall toward 6,000 to 7,000 feet by Thursday night and Friday, so precipitation is all snow across the ski terrain, and even many of the lower lodging elevations end the week below the snow line. Snow to liquid ratios trend higher with this midweek system, commonly in the 12–16:1 range and even a bit higher at the coldest times near the Continental Divide, so snow quality becomes lighter and more powdery than with the Sunday night event, especially at Loveland, Arapahoe Basin, Winter Park, Monarch and Crested Butte. Open I-70 resorts see their best refresh from Wednesday night through Friday, when another 4″–7″ falls at Loveland and Arapahoe Basin, around 4″–8″ at Winter Park, and roughly 2″–5″ at Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Vail, Beaver Creek, Monarch, Snowmass and Crested Butte, with generally lighter winds that should keep surfaces soft aside from some gusty periods on exposed ridges.
Looking beyond Friday into the Thanksgiving period, the larger-scale pattern continues to keep Colorado in an active, unsettled regime with continued chances for mountain snow. Guidance for the six- to ten-day window favors above-normal precipitation and temperatures near to slightly above average across the state, which suggests additional waves of moisture moving through the region rather than a prolonged dry spell. During the eight- to fourteen-day stretch, temperatures trend closer to seasonal norms as troughing builds across the west-central United States, while precipitation odds remain tilted toward the wetter side, making frequent light to moderate snow events more likely than single blockbuster storms. For skiers, this pattern suggests steady base building across the state as more terrain opens, with the southern mountains and higher Divide areas most favored for repeated refreshes. Additionally, sufficient cool air is expected, making rain mixing into the major ski elevations unlikely for much of the period. Resorts that are currently closed, including Beaver Creek (opening November 26), Snowmass, Telluride, and Crested Butte (opening November 27), as well as Steamboat and Wolf Creek, should all benefit from this persistent storminess as they expand their terrain offerings.
Resort Forecast Totals
- Wolf Creek – 13″–20″ total (5″–7″ Sun night (11/16) – Mon night (11/17) + 8″–13″ Tue (11/18) – Fri (11/21))
- Telluride – 11″–16″ total (4″–6″ Sun night (11/16) – Mon (11/17) + 7″–11″ Tue (11/18) – Fri (11/21))
- Loveland – 6″–10″ total (2″–3″ Sun night (11/16) – Mon night (11/17) + 4″–7″ Wed night (11/19) – Fri (11/21))
- Arapahoe Basin – 6″–10″ total (3″–3″ Sun night (11/16) – Mon night (11/17) + 4″–7″ Wed night (11/19) – Fri (11/21))
- Winter Park – 5″–9″ total (1″–2″ Sun night (11/16) – Mon night (11/17) + 4″–8″ Wed night (11/19) – Fri (11/21))
- Snowmass – 5″–8″ total (3″–4″ Sun night (11/16) – Mon night (11/17) + 2″–4″ Wed night (11/19) – Fri (11/21))
- Steamboat – 6″–8″ Sun night (11/16) – Mon night (11/17)
- Crested Butte – 6″–8″ total (4″–5″ Sun night (11/16) – Mon (11/17) + 2″–4″ Wed night (11/19) – Fri (11/21))
- Beaver Creek – 4″–7″ total (2″–2″ Sun night (11/16) – Mon night (11/17) + 3″–5″ Wed night (11/19) – Fri (11/21))
- Monarch – 4″–7″ total (1″–2″ Sun night (11/16) – Mon (11/17) + 3″–5″ Wed night (11/19) – Fri (11/21))
- Vail – 4″–7″ total (2″–3″ Sun night (11/16) – Mon night (11/17) + 2″–4″ Wed night (11/19) – Fri (11/21))
- Breckenridge – 4″–6″ total (2″–2″ Sun night (11/16) – Mon (11/17) + 2″–4″ Wed night (11/19) – Fri (11/21))
- Copper Mountain – 4″–6″ total (2″–2″ Sun night (11/16) – Mon (11/17) + 2″–4″ Wed night (11/19) – Fri (11/21))
