Snow and mountain weather next 8 days

Storm #2 delivered a few pockets of moderate snow accumulation including Crested Butte, Aspen Mountain, and Copper Mountain in Colorado.

Crested Butte 12/9/2021.
Copper Mountain 12/9/2021.

The main event for Utah and Colorado remains the 3rd storm system of the cycle. It’s currently exiting California and will move into Utah then Colorado between Thursday and Friday. On infrared satellite also notice the storm system sliding out of the Gulf of Alaska aimed at the Pacific Northwest.

Infrared satellite and storm track 12/9/2021.

This qualifies as a weak to moderate intensity atmospheric river setup. Heavy snow accumulation (30-50″) likely on the higher volcanoes and Cascades between Friday-Saturday. 8-12″ interior British Columbia and Banff Area.

This storm system and atmospheric river sinks south and hits California by Sunday night and continues Monday and Tuesday. Heavy precipitation totals are likely.

Integrated vapor transport for San Francisco, CA zone.

This storm system then breaks loose 12/14-12/15 and delivers snow to Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, and New Mexico. The track of this storm system is still in question and will have important implications on snow accumulation.

Snow Forecast

Let’s look at my snow forecast in two timeframes.

Mid-mountain totals 12/9-12/12

Inches of snow 12/9-12/12.

Mid-mountain totals 12/13-12/17.

Inches of snow 12/13-12/17.

Drilling down, here’s my snow plume collective.

Inches of snow, mid-mountain.

Cold Morning 12/11

I’m also forecasting the coldest morning of the season so far in Colorado in the wake of this storm system. Let’s look at Saturday (12/11) morning.

12/11 5amGUSTS (MPH)AIR TEMP (F)
LONGS PEAK70-15
CRESTED BUTTE20-20
BERTHOUD PASS50-10
QUANDARY PEAK40-20
CAMERON PASS45-8
Tomer forecast 12/11 5am.

For more analysis here’s my forecast video:

2 thoughts on “Snow and mountain weather next 8 days

Comments are closed.