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December 15, 2008 —
A foot of 8.5% density snow fell on Vail over Saturday night and into Sunday, The Beav' received 14 inches respectively. A perfect dump to cover all of the bare spots, although tough to ski in, I skied with my wife Regina as it was our second wedding anniversary. We only got 4 runs in, I had binding issues, bummer. But it was just what we needed to get the holiday season started.
And round two and three are just around the corner. We will begin to see temps rise by tomorrow (thankfully) as our next weather system moves in from the S.W. This next storm is strong but will affect the Four Corners area more so than the I-70 corridor, bringing with it warmer temps and lots of moisture. The San Juan Mountains are under a Winter Storm Warning and are looking to get another 1-2 feet by Wed. afternoon. We should see snow totals in the 8-13 inch range by Wednesday if this storm doesn't get held up by the San Juan and Sawatch Ranges.
Temps will increase by Tuesday with highs in the mid 20's and lows in the teens overnight. Winds will increase from the S.W. tonight with winds gusts in the 25-30 mph. Round three looks to be shaping up for the weekend with another low pressure system moving into the area. We will keep watch.
Finally. WARNING!!! The National Weather Service has issued an AVALANCHE WARNING for the San Juan Mountains and the Elk and West Elk ranges in central Colorado. Vail and The Beav' are covered in this area. Sources on Vail Mountain reported an in-bounds slide around 11:00 a.m. in Blue Sky Basin on the Lover's Leap trail. Three men involved, one man buried to his waist and the other two dug him out. The slide crown (top) was 150 ft long and the slide moved 150 ft down the fall line. The snow slid all the way to the ground. The area was bombed earlier in the day and was considered safe. Luckily no one was hurt.
Please take notice to these warnings and if you plan on skiing in the back country use proper equipment and route finding.
Enjoy the snow.
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Courtesy noaa.gov noaa.gov
Snow is falling with no signs of stopping
December 13, 2008 —
Hooray, Hazzaah, Yippie! On Friday a surprising storm (supposedly quick and weak) blasted the Valley. My on mountain source Paul Rush told me at 4 p.m. that two inches had already fallen and it was still snowing as he was leaving the hill.
I left Minturn at 7 p.m. and there was three inches in the parking lot and snow was still flying, a good sign. And the great news, our first big one of the season is barreling out of the Pacific Northwest, and is on a crash course with Colorado.
Much of the Western Slope of Colorado is under a winter storm warning through Sunday evening. A cold and very organized low pressure system is working its way southwest and bringing with it cold temps and high winds.
This next system will combine with a moist gulf flow and bring with it heavy snow, and winds in the 15-25 mph range. We could also see gusts in the 50 mph range on the ridge tops overnight Saturday and into Sunday. Temps will drop dramatically once the cold front moves through late Saturday night and stay cold through Monday.
Saturday, on mountain temps will range from 15-25 degrees and winds will be in the high teens and low 20s. Snowfall totals Saturday afternoon should range between 4-8 inches. Saturday night the brunt of the storm will hit Vail and Beaver Creek with moderate to heavy snow fall and windy conditions. Sunday snow totals for the morning report should be great, ranging any where from 10-18 inches for Vail and The Beav'.
Finally, this storm will be the first of many to slam the Rockies' this week. Some forecasters are calling for 5-6 feet of snow to fall in Colorado in the next seven days. We can only hope. If you are lucky enough to ski this weekend, enjoy and don't forget to smile.
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Courtesy NWS
Big snow may hit Vail this weekend
December 11, 2008 —
A false alarm for the forecasted quick storm that was supposed to wisp through Colorado today (Dec. 11) as the ridge of high pressure was to strong to allow N.W. winds to move in.
This weekend is looking promising for our first significant storm to move into the Rockies.
As of now we are looking at a cold front moving in from the N.W. on Saturday, combining with gulf moisture from the southwest. Quite often these are storms that can produce heavy amounts of snowfall in a short amount of time if the dynamics (wind, dew points, temps.) can all come together.
The jet stream looks favorable as models show that it should be bringing in cold air from Canada and move due west by this Sunday.
Right now the storm looks to last at least three days starting Saturday and ending early Tuesday morning.
With this cold front we will see temperatures drop dramatically Saturday night and continue through mid week. We will keep watch and give snow total predictions as this system moves closer.
1 Comment on "Big snow may hit Vail this weekend"
Reid — December 11, 2008
Whoa!!! Don't let the caption fool you. Presumably we might get pounded. Often times things don't set up correct and we're left with 2 inches instead of 20. But I'm just as excited as everyone else, considering Sunday is my 2nd anniversary and nothing would be nicer than a powder day to celebrate. As I stated we will watch this storm closely as it unfolds. Stay tuned. Reid
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Photo courtesy of Mr. Griebling
Weather station down, but winter advisory in effect for Vail Valley
December 8, 2008 —
Another low pressure system will quickly pass through the Western Slope today (Mon) and move out Tuesday morning. We are under a winter storm advisory until Tuesday morning. Average temps will precede this storm (mid 20's) which looks to hit the Gore Range around 1:00 p.m. local time.
As this front moves through temps will drop into the low teens and remain cold through Tuesday. N.W. winds will increase as Monday moves on with wind speeds in the low to mid 20's and gusts in the 30 mph range. Forecasters are calling for 4-8 inches by Tuesday's morning report, however, this storm is riding the under belly of another front in the Wyoming area, which means we could see limited snow totals (2-5inches) in our area depending on the wind and dynamics of both low pressure systems.
I have some bad news about the weather station, I might have to send the whole system back and get a new one, which means no weather link until the new year, BUMMER! But the bright side is we are going to see the weather axis finally shift to the west, bringing unsettled weather for the remainder of the month. The rest of our week looks promising with another quick storm moving through Thursday and our first "Big One" of the year possibly moving in this weekend.
Finally, our esteemed computer guru Kent Van Fleet has built a snow report for Vail and Beaver Creek on the left hand side of this site. Giving snow totals, lift info and acreage of open terrain.
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