As a fall chill settled over much of Colorado, winter thrill-seekers got their first taste of the coming ski season.

Many of the the state’s ski areas saw flakes this week. While not enough to ski, snowboard, sled, or slide down, the snow is enough to get restless winter athletes excited for the coming season.

Arapahoe Basin was among the first to see signs of snow this week.

Soon after, several other ski resorts, including Breckenridge, Vail, and Keystone, also started to see snowfall.

Resorts in the southern half of the state, including Purgatory and Wolf Creek, also saw snow on their mountain peaks.

Yesterday, Copper Mountain also saw a dusting.

Overnight flurries left Pikes Peak also capped with snow on Thursday.

The first snows of the 2021 fall season arrived later than usual, said National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Hodanish said.

“Last Saturday I went out looking at the aspens like everybody else, but there was no snow in the mountains at all. That just didn’t make sense,” he said. “In all the decades I’ve lived here, there was always snow when the aspens were going, so we’re running behind schedule.”

Part of the reason for the delayed snow, he said, were the dry conditions that have plagued the state, especially in the south and west.

But snow and other precipitation should be more common from here on out, Hodanish said.

“The cool weather’s finally arrived, and we’re now back to normal,” he said. “We’ve got a couple weather systems moving across the area, that makes things a little easier to get snow on the peaks.”

Colorado Springs weather: Cool, rainy Thursday with snow in the mountains

More high country snow could fly in the coming days, with rain showers predicted at lower elevations across the Pikes Peak region through Sunday.