How much snow is reported in the Colorado mountains? | Whiteout

Colorado's first major snowstorm of the season remains on schedule and will produce two to three days of rain and snow, with the southwest, southeast and central mountains potentially experiencing significant snow accumulations above 9,000 feet.

A cut-off low will move south into the Four Corners region, pumping moisture north into Colorado and lowering temperatures over about 48 hours.

Another chance of more snow occurs between October 27th and 31st.

Recap:

Temperatures Wednesday were still warm enough to keep snow accumulations limited, even as high-altitude snow showers fell on some Colorado peaks above 10,000 feet.

Snow showers were captured by Purgatory Mountain Resort's webcam Wednesday afternoon as a weak disturbance swept through Colorado.

Further northwest, the high temperature was 55 degrees in Telluride, Colorado, according to AccuWeather.com.

Forecast:

Thursday will be a weather transition day in high country Colorado, with high clouds moving across the state ahead of Friday's main storm.

Highs Thursday will be in the upper 30s and lower 40s near freezing in mountain valleys below 9,000 feet and above 9,500 feet on peaks.

The National Weather Service in Grand Junction has issued a winter storm warning for large areas of southwest Colorado, including Silverton, Telluride and Lake City, effective from noon Friday through noon Sunday.

Satellite images show the truncated low-pressure storm moving into the Great Basin on Thursday, where it will descend south toward Four Corners by Friday and slowly move eastward by Sunday.

The ECMWF-IFS high-resolution model forecast calls for snow to begin falling Friday morning in the southwest mountains above 12,000 feet. Temperatures don't appear to be cold enough to cause snow in the western mountains around the Grand Mesa, but could reach the freezing mark around sunrise Saturday morning.

Since little to no snow has accumulated this season, the map above shows total snow depth and not total snowfall.

Increased snow accumulations are now forecast for the central and southeastern mountains – including Monarch Pass, Lake and Southern Summit counties, as well as west of Trinidad and Walsenberg – with the Sawatch and Sangre de Cristo mountains receiving between 10 and 20 inches and 4 and 14 inches, respectively .

Forecasts on Monday indicate the snowfall in the southeastern mountains will be about half that amount.

Snow accumulations in the San Juan Mountains continue to be between 1 and 2 feet, with local amounts up to 30 inches higher.

Long range:

Next week will bring more fall weather Monday through Thursday with high temperatures back into the 40s and 50s and more dryness.

Editor's Note: Once some ski areas and resorts open for the season, the Whiteout Ski Area Conditions Map will be updated semi-daily with information on conditions, open trails and 24-hour snow totals.

Today's 24-hour snow totals from ski resorts in Colorado:

Arapahoe Basin – Closed seasonally

Aspen Highlands – Closed seasonally

Aspen Mountain – Closed seasonally

Beaver Creek – Closed seasonally

Breckenridge – Closed seasonally

Buttermilk – Closed for seasonal reasons

Cooper – Closed seasonally

Copper Mountain – Closed seasonally

Crested Butte – Closed seasonally

Echo Mountain – Closed seasonally

Eldora Mountain – Closed seasonally

Granby Ranch – Closed seasonally

Hesperus – Closed for seasonal reasons

Howelsen Hill – Closed seasonally

Kendall Mountain – Closed seasonally

Keystone – Closed seasonally

Loveland – Closed seasonally

Monarch – Closed seasonally

Powderhorn – Closed for seasonal reasons

Purgatory – Closed seasonally

Silverton – Closed seasonally

Snowmass – Closed seasonally

Steamboat – Closed seasonally

Sunlight – Closed for seasonal reasons

Telluride – Closed seasonally

Vail – Closed seasonally

Winter Park – Closed seasonally

Wolf Creek – Closed seasonally