Weather
This forecast was created at 1:00 a.m. PST on Sunday, November 23, 2025.
A cutoff low-pressure system is moving from Southern California up to the Four Corners region on Saturday night. Winds will rotate counterclockwise around the low-pressure center, allowing southerly winds to advect a substantial amount of moisture from the Pacific into the Southern Rockies on Sunday morning. A lot of this moisture will fall as rain over Arizona and New Mexico, but the terrain rises much more rapidly, beginning with the San Juan and Sangre de Cristo Mountains. As a result, those mountain ranges could see heavy snow that lasts as long as the flow remains out of the south, which looks to be the case from late Saturday evening to around midday Sunday.
The low-pressure system is moving across the Four Corners on Sunday. Source: maps.weatherbell.com
Cutoff lows like this, especially this time of year, are not very cold storms, and this is no exception. When snow begins falling on Saturday evening, snow levels will be 8,000-9,000 feet. Snow levels will gradually drop overnight and will be down to about 7,000 feet by sunrise Sunday morning. Snow levels remain close to 7,000 feet all day Sunday before dropping slightly on Sunday night as cooler air moves in. However, this cooler air is only moving in because winds are shifting from the south to the north, which will also cut off the supply of moisture. Snow will ultimately taper off late Sunday night when there is not enough moisture to keep the snow machine going.
Despite the relatively high snow levels, this is expected to be a significant storm for Southwest Colorado. The major resorts in that area are at very high elevations, generally between 9,000 and 12,000 feet, which is high enough to see all the snow from this event. Expect the resorts furthest to the south and west to perform the best.
Resort Forecast Totals
- Wolf Creek Ski Area: 7″-14″
- Purgatory Mountain Resort: 6″-12″
- Monarch Mountain: 5″-10″
- Telluride Ski Resort: 5″-10″
- Crested Butte Mountain Resort: 2″-5″
