Colorado ski area snow forecast: Some resorts expecting 4-8 inches of snow from storm

As Front Range commuters gird for a winter storm due to arrive Wednesday afternoon, Colorado ski areas can expect a decent if not dramatic delivery of new snow.

OpenSnow founding meteorologist Joel Gratz is forecasting mountain accumulations mostly in the range of four to six inches Wednesday and continuing into Thursday, with a few locations receiving more.

Echo Mountain, the ski area closest to the Front Range, could be the big winner at eight inches as Gratz sees it. He’s forecasting seven inches for Eldora and Snowmass, while several areas could receive six inches including Steamboat, Aspen and Aspen Highlands, Telluride, Winter Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. Most other areas will receive 4-5 inches, according to his forecast.

“Overall, this Wednesday/Thursday storm is not super impressive in terms of its energy, track, or moisture,” Gratz wrote Tuesday in his daily report for Colorado, “but we will of course take the flakes when we can get them, and a 4-8 inch midweek haul of new snow should create fun turns in many spots across the state.”

This storm has been a difficult one to predict, Gratz explained, citing conflicting forecast models that leave “a large amount of uncertainty about which mountains could see the highest snow totals.” He believes it is possible that some areas could receive up to 10 inches.

“The best potential for up to 8-10 inches, according to the model average, will be for the areas north of I-70 and near and east of the divide,” Gratz wrote.

A stronger storm is expected to hit the mountains early next week.

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