Weather
Mountain snowfall is strongest through Thursday, with heavy wet mountain snow and strong gusty winds lifting totals at higher terrain. A secondary round of lighter, less certain accumulations may arrive late in the period, but confidence in timing and intensity drops by the weekend as guidance diverges. For the next day and a half, expect the best skiers’ window for fresh coverage and natural terrain fill at higher elevations, followed by a return to quieter, warmer conditions with occasional pulse activity.
Across central and northern Colorado, the first storm wave is the most reliable signal for this forecast. Guidance aligns on ongoing snowfall from this morning through Thursday, centered in the Park, Rockies and higher Front Range terrain. Wind speeds are expected to be brisk, with gusts commonly around 45 to 50 mph at exposed elevations and sustained flow near 20 mph, producing rougher conditions on upper bowls and ridgelines. Snow levels remain generally in the 6,500 to 11,000 feet range during this period, so lower-elevation edges can see mixed outcomes while high and mid-mountain terrain stays mostly snowy. SLR values are highly variable but often hover around 7 to 14:1 with frequent dips into the lower values during the heaviest portions, so new snow quality is likely mixed, with some heavy, dense bands and intermittent workable dry-to-firm transitions.
After Wednesday night into Friday, model guidance gradually loses agreement and snowfall signals become patchier. Most guidance keeps the immediate active phase tapering through Thursday, with a brief lull for much of Friday, while the cold front and wind shifts reduce moisture. Some solutions continue to show additional light snow bands into the weekend, but timing and snowfall totals differ substantially. Outside the highest zones, conditions are more likely to remain dry or only lightly dusted through Friday, and ski quality there should evolve toward settled surface cycles rather than continuous replenishment.
Beyond the high-confidence window, the large-scale pattern stays mild and storm-prone through the first half of next week, with increasing uncertainty on exact timing of later mountain waves. The extended outlook supports above-normal temperatures and a tendency toward above-median precipitation for Colorado through early March, with a west-to-east trough influence developing later. For ski planning, treat late-period outcomes as speculative: a plausible outcome is additional modest mountain snowfall and a partial cooling trend, while a drier, warmer sequence remains possible into early next week. Snow quality in that horizon looks more favorable when precipitation does arrive, but totals and impacts should remain broad until guidance converges.
Resort Forecast Totals (02-25 to 02-26)
- Winter Park – 6-7 in
- Loveland – 5-7 in
- Arapahoe Basin – 5-6 in
- Steamboat – 4-5 in
- Vail – 4-5 in
- Beaver Creek – 3-4 in
- Breckenridge – 3-4 in
- Copper Mountain – 3-4 in
- Monarch – 2-3 in
- Crested Butte – 3 in
- Snowmass – 1-2 in
- Telluride – 1 in
- Wolf Creek – 0 in
