Light snow in the northern Colorado mountains is forecast heading into the second weekend of November, starting a shift to more stormy weather for the second half of the month.

But first a dry spell will take hold for about five days from this weekend into next late week before a larger storm system is forecast from Thursday to Sunday, Nov. 16.

Plus additional snow is possible Monday, Nov. 17 through Tuesday, Nov. 18 in the high country, and the Front Range urban corridor should finally see its first snow, including metro Denver, around late Wednesday, Nov. 19.

Recap:

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Colorado’s high country recorded above-average temperatures again, continuing a warm spell that has lasted over a week.

Aspen Mountain recorded a high of 51 degrees on Tuesday and 50 degrees on Wednesday. Copper Mountain recorded a high of 50 degrees on Tuesday and 54 degrees on Wednesday.

Snowmaking efforts at night have continued at ski areas and resorts that have the ability, however coverage on non-snowmaking slopes still looks rather bare.

South facing slopes have little to no snow and north facing slopes have snow more or less only in shaded areas, as evident from Loveland Ski Area’s Ptarmigan web camera.

Forecast:

Light snow will begin falling early Thursday morning in the northern mountains and will continue through Thursday evening.

Snowfall totals range between a trace-2 inches, mostly in the northern Front Range around Estes Park and Grand Lake, with Steamboat and Winter Park seeing light accumulations as well.

A break in the action on Friday is forecast ahead of a second round of snow coming in Friday night through Saturday morning.

Additional snow accumulations of 1-2 inches is possible for the northern mountains, including down to Interstate 70.

The central and southern mountains look to receive no snow from both of these waves of energy as the storm system passes too far north of Colorado to bring anything that far south.

Saturday and Sunday see a return to dry and warmer conditions across the high country.

Long-term forecast:

From Monday to early Thursday morning, Nov. 13 continued dry and sunny conditions will persist although daily temperatures will be lower, giving some help for the ski areas to make snow for longer durations on any given day.

Early Thursday, Nov. 13 morning, a larger system enters the state from the southwest and will finally deliver much needed snow to all three mountain zones through Sunday, Nov. 16 morning.

The storm has a west-to-east trajectory across Arizona and New Mexico but will pump moisture into Colorado from the west southwest, southwest and then southeast.

Multiple models are aligning well with where the snow will fall, how much potentially and the duration from this storm.

Forecasted totals in the northern mountains range between 4-8 inches, in the central mountains between 6-12 inches and in the southern mountains between 8-14 inches.

ECMWF:

GFS:

Snow is forecast to ramp up again overnight Monday, Nov. 17 through Tuesday, Nov. 18, this time from northwest to southeast (benefitting the northern mountains most).

From Tuesday, Nov. 18 through Wednesday, Nov. 19, more snow is possible, including the potential first snow for metro Denver late Wednesday, Nov. 19.

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 – 0″

Wolf Creek – Open as soon as conditions allow