Weather
A cold midweek storm will spread light to occasionally moderate powder across nearly every Colorado resort from Tuesday through Thursday, with the best skiing and riding lining up from late Tuesday night into Wednesday. Expect several inches of high quality, low density snow at most open mountains, deepest across the central and southern ranges, while Telluride, still closed until December 6, quietly stacks an early season base and Monarch steps into its December 2 opening with fresh coverage. Snow levels start around 5,500 to 6,000 feet before dropping well below the resort bases, temperatures stay in the teens and single digits at elevation, and winds are generally manageable aside from a few gustier peaks. Another round of northwest flow snow showers looks likely next weekend for the northern and central mountains, but the broader early to mid December pattern favors slightly warmer than normal temperatures and more modest, spaced out refreshers rather than big, cold dumpers.
Tuesday–Wednesday brings the first widespread early December powder shot to nearly every Colorado resort, starting light on Tuesday then ramping up Tuesday night. Light snow develops in the northern mountains early Tuesday and gradually spreads south and east into the central and southern ranges during the day, leaving a soft coating at open areas like Steamboat, Winter Park, Vail, Beaver Creek, Snowmass, Crested Butte, Loveland, Copper Mountain, Arapahoe Basin, Breckenridge and Wolf Creek by sunset. Snow levels start near 5,500 to 6,000 feet but quickly fall in the afternoon as colder air arrives, so precipitation stays all snow from base to summit. Temperatures run in the upper teens to lower twenties at mid mountain with single digits at the highest ridges, and even this first wave features relatively high snow ratios in the mid teens, setting the stage for soft turns where lifts are spinning while Telluride and Monarch, which is preparing to open on December 2, quietly build an early season base.
Overnight Tuesday into Wednesday is the heart of this storm, as a cold front and upslope flow combine with strong orographics to produce steady, low density snowfall across the high country. Northern mountains such as Steamboat and Winter Park, along with the central corridor resorts from Loveland and Arapahoe Basin through Copper Mountain, Vail and Beaver Creek, pick up several more inches during the night and Wednesday morning, with the best turns likely once patrol drops ropes on the new snow late Wednesday morning into the afternoon. Central and southern mountains, including Snowmass, Crested Butte, Monarch and Wolf Creek, also see a healthy refresh with the bulk of their accumulation from Tuesday night through Wednesday night, while Telluride quietly piles up snow ahead of its December 6 opening. Snow levels continue to fall toward roughly 2,500 to 3,000 feet by Wednesday night, temperatures drop into the single digits and lower teens, and snow to liquid ratios generally sit in the 15–19:1 range, squarely in the light and fluffy category, with winds mostly modest except for some gustier peaks near Monarch and Wolf Creek.
After a brief lull later Thursday, the pattern evolves into a more traditional northwest flow regime late this week and into the weekend that keeps the storm door cracked open for the mountains while the lower elevations trend drier and milder. Northern and central mountains, especially areas along and north of Cottonwood Pass that include the Monarch and Aspen–Snowmass corridor, are favored for recurring light to occasionally moderate orographic snow showers from Friday into the weekend, providing periodic soft refreshes for the many resorts that are now open even as daytime temperatures slowly climb back into more seasonable twenties and thirties at mid mountain. Farther south around Wolf Creek and Telluride, snow chances are a bit more hit and miss, and the broader outlook into the six to fourteen day period leans toward above normal temperatures with precipitation near to slightly below normal for Colorado overall, suggesting more frequent smaller refreshers rather than a parade of deep, cold storms.
Resort Forecast Totals
- Telluride – 6″–8″ Tue (12/02) – Wed night (12/03)
- Snowmass – 5″–7″ Tue (12/02) – Wed night (12/03)
- Vail – 5″–7″ Tue (12/02) – Wed night (12/03)
- Beaver Creek – 5″–7″ Tue (12/02) – Wed night (12/03)
- Monarch – 4″–6″ Tue (12/02) – Wed night (12/03)
- Crested Butte – 4″–6″ Tue (12/02) – Thu (12/04)
- Steamboat – 4″–5″ Tue (12/02) – Wed night (12/03)
- Wolf Creek – 4″–5″ Tue night (12/02) – Thu (12/04)
- Loveland – 3″–4″ Tue night (12/02) – Wed night (12/03)
- Arapahoe Basin – 3″–4″ Tue night (12/02) – Wed night (12/03)
- Copper Mountain – 3″–4″ Tue night (12/02) – Wed night (12/03)
- Winter Park – 3″–4″ Tue night (12/02) – Wed night (12/03)
- Breckenridge – 2″–3″ Tue night (12/02) – Wed night (12/03)
