Snow storm three of three will enter Colorado Sunday afternoon/evening and bring colder temperatures and more snow to the state’s high country through Monday.

Snow making continues at the ski areas as opening date rumors swirl in the air ahead of Halloween; looking at you Keystone and A-Basin.

Next snow storm trending toward at least two weeks out, meaning the start to November will be pretty dry.

Recap:

Snow began falling in Colorado’s mountains on Thursday at places in southern Colorado like Wolf Creek and Telluride to start off the day.

The central and northern mountains began receiving snow later in the day with snowfall accumulations of between 1-3 inches.

Snow continued into Friday, mostly south of U.S. Highway 50 (central mountains), with some lingering showers along the Continental Divide in the Front Range and around Steamboat in the Park Range.

By Friday morning, Loveland Ski Area in Clear Creek County showed 4 inches of fresh snow on its snow stake around 6 a.m. Similar totals were recorded at other northern mountains ski resorts, where 1-6 inches (Vail and Beaver Creek) fell overnight into Friday.

By Friday afternoon, where any additional snow falling was between 1-2 inches, the storm had exited the state but the last storm of three forecast entered the Pacific Northwest.

Forecast:

From Saturday morning until Sunday evening, forecasted conditions around Colorado will be pretty quiet as the third storm moves closer to the state from the Pacific.

High temperatures at base areas over the weekend are forecast to be in the low 40s, with highs at ski area summits in the 30s.

Starting Sunday evening, the ECMWF forecast model run from Friday afternoon forecasts snow returning to Colorado, this time like previous forecasts, mostly for the northern mountains.

The newest model run has snow falling into Monday evening, with between 2-8 inches accumulating, highest amounts possible mostly in the Park Range around Steamboat.

This change in the forecast is unfortunate from the last few days’ forecast where more widespread snowfall and higher totals was predicted.

One silver lining, however, is that temperatures will be noticeably colder with this storm system, creating better conditions for snow making to commence at ski areas with that equipment and lead to opening days before Halloween.

According to the ECMWF model, low temperatures on Tuesday morning, especially in the central and northern mountains, are forecast to be well below freezing.

Wednesday morning’s forecasted low temperatures are similar, however, more widespread across the entire state, which could lead to additional snowmaking during the first several days of next week.

Long-range forecast:

From Wednesday through Tuesday, Nov. 4, little to no storminess is forecast. On Wednesday, Nov. 5, the possibility of snow is in the mix for the northern mountains, and then again starting Saturday, Nov. 8.

More model runs will have to render to dial in better details regarding these two potential snow events, but currently the dates are 10-plus days out and could certainly change over the course of time period.

Colorado ski resorts’ planned opening dates:

Arapahoe Basin – Open as soon as conditions allow

Aspen Highlands – Dec. 13

Aspen Mountain – Nov. 27

Beaver Creek – Nov. 26

Breckenridge – Nov. 7

Buttermilk – Dec. 13

Cooper – Dec. 10

Copper Mountain – Nov. 7

Crested Butte – Nov. 26

Echo Mountain – TBD

Eldora Mountain – Nov. 14

Granby Ranch – Nov. 26

Hesperus – Closed for the season

Howelsen Hill – Nov. 29

Kendall Mountain – December

Keystone – Open as soon as conditions allow

Loveland – Open as soon as conditions allow

Monarch – Nov. 21

Powderhorn – Nov. 22

Purgatory – Nov. 22

Silverton – Private mountain after Dec. 1, Guided and Heli season Dec. 27

Snowmass – Nov. 27

Steamboat – Nov. 22

Sunlight – Dec. 12

Telluride – Nov. 27

Vail – Nov. 14

Winter Park – Open as soon as conditions allow

Wolf Creek – Open as soon as conditions allow