Colorado’s mountains and subsequent ski areas and resorts gracing their slopes will receive no natural snow over the last couple of days of October.

A weak disturbance 7-8 days out could bring a few inches to northern and northwestern Colorado shortly before the second weekend of November, otherwise above-average day-time high temperatures and seasonal-average night-time low temperatures will dominate the weather forecast during that time frame.

Similar to previous forecasts, most storms stray north across Montana and Wyoming and only brush Colorado while passing eastward.

Recap:

Cold mornings on both Tuesday and Wednesday allowed for more snowmaking at ski areas that can as low temperatures were in the teens and single digits, especially Wednesday morning where the recorded low at the summit of Winter Park was 11 degrees.

Grand County resort Winter Park Resort announced Thursday morning it will be opening for winter 2025-26 at 1 p.m., Friday. 

“Our new $37 million snowmaking system upgrade has been performing exactly as planned and our teams have determined we have enough snow to ski and ride,” Communications Manager Jen Miller said in an email. “Combining our upgraded snowmaking with expert groomers and natural snowfall, Winter Park is kicking off the season with a solid base.”

Winter Park has kicked off winter on Halloween only once before in 2022, tying this year’s first day of skiing as the earliest opening ever.

Forecast:

Unfortunately from Thursday through next Thursday, the forecast looks to stay relatively unchanged.

High temperatures at most base areas will be in the upper 40s through the end of the week and are forecast to push into the 50s over the weekend through Thursday.

On Thursday, a potential change could happen as a storm front blows into Colorado Thursday afternoon and evening, with snow showing up on most of the weather models.

A low pressure wave pushing eastward across Colorado is forecast to push moisture into the state a westerly flow, allowing for some snow to fall.

The ECMWF and GFS model runs forecast some snow, but don’t align with where the system will pass through across the state. The ECWMF model has the storm system pass through central Colorado while the GFS model has the storm pass through northern Colorado.

Regardless, snow is forecast to fall through Friday, Nov. 7, potentially into Saturday, Nov. 8.

The ECMWF model shows less snow overall and spread out over all three mountain zones, where as the GFS model shows higher snowfall totals centered in the northern mountains, particularly in the Park Range near Steamboat.

GFS:

ECMWF:

The southern mountains, currently, appear to mostly get skunked from both agency’s forecast.

Although this forecast is still 7-8 days out, the potential for snow is there, but more honed details will emerge with more model runs, and the forecast will more than likely change again.

Long-term forecast:

Looking past Saturday, Nov. 8, the potential for more chances for snow in Colorado’s mountains are around Tuesday, Nov. 11 and Thursday, Nov. 13.

More model runs will need to render over the next two weeks to dial in better details regarding these two potential storms, including duration, potential snowfall totals and timing.

Colorado ski resorts’ planned opening dates and 24-hour totals:

Arapahoe Basin – 0″

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 – 0″

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