Thursday is the last day of non-storminess in Colorado for about a week.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for the San Juan mountains and Uncompahgre Plateau early Thursday morning, effective from 5 p.m. Thursday to 5 p.m. Saturday.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch on Thursday afternoon from Friday morning to late Saturday for several mountainous areas in western and southwestern Colorado as well, including the Grand Mesa, Elkhead, Park, Gore, Elk, Sawatch, and Flattops mountains.

Snow accumulations range from 8-20 inches for the affected areas, with local amounts reaching 24 inches plus.

What’s responsible for all the potential snow is a large area of low pressure spinning off the coasts of Oregon and California. This storm eventually will make its way into Colorado for the weekend with ample moisture attached to it.

Snow begins around sunset Thursday afternoon and is forecast to intensify overnight Friday into Friday day time. The ECMWF high resolution model forecast on Friday has potential snowfall rates around mountains north of Durango of around one inch per hour for multiple hours, and half an inch per hour around Wolf Creek Pass.

Snow is forecast to start in the central mountains mid-day and western and northern mountains around sunset Friday.

Saturday’s first chair for southern resorts Purgatory, Silverton and Wolf Creek should be the deepest, 10-20 inches.

The central and western resorts are forecast to receive between 4-18 inches, with maybe a surprise deep first chair at Powderhorn. Crested Butte, Aspen/Snowmass and Vail/Beaver Creek could see higher amounts too.

Ski areas and resorts farther east and north are forecast to receive 1-8 inches (Steamboat would be deepest). These areas will benefit more for Sunday’s skiing and riding as the storm pushes east into Oklahoma as moisture wraps around from the southeast and east, then the north and northwest, building up accumulations along the Front Range, and in Summit, Grand and Clear Creek counties, before winding down Sunday.

Monday and most of Tuesday are forecast to be dry before the next storm enters the state late Tuesday night into Wednesday, again from the southwest.

The European model shows a lot of moisture over Colorado with wind directions blowing from the southwest, indicating a potential snow event with several inches of snow for the southern mountains Wednesday and Thursday. The potential for multiple feet of snow by Thursday night is a possibility.

Lesser amounts are forecast for the central and northern mountains. More details to follow as this second system heads toward Colorado ski country for the middle of next week.

Today’s 24 hour snow total from Colorado resorts:

Arapahoe Basin – 0″

Aspen Mountain – 0″

Aspen Highlands – 0″

Beaver Creek – 0″

Breckenridge – 0″

Buttermilk – 0″

Cooper – 0″

Copper Mountain – 0″

Crested Butte – 0″

Echo Mountain – 0″

Eldora Mountain – 0″

Granby Ranch – 0″

Hesperus – Closed for season

Howelsen Hill – 0″

Kendall Mountain – 0″, open weekends

Keystone – 0″

Loveland – 0″

Monarch – 0″

Powderhorn – 0″

Purgatory – 0″

Silverton – 0″

Snowmass – 0″

Steamboat – 0″

Sunlight – 0″

Telluride – 0″

Vail – 0″

Winter Park – 0″

Wolf Creek – 0″