Weekend storms could bring up to 13 inches of snow to Vail
Stormy conditions predicted for most of Saturday, while Sunday afternoon could bring more precipitation
Vail Mountain should get some extra padding over the weekend to carry it into its closing week.
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for the area from Friday, April 22 at 3 p.m. until 12 a.m. on April 24. “Travel could be very difficult,” the advisory states, “areas of blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. Gusty winds could bring down tree branches.”
Dan Cuevas, a forecaster in the NWS Grand Junction office said a strong low pressure system will allow a strong, potentially wet, cold front to blow through the Rockies. Temperatures will drop into the 20s and 30s for most of the weekend, with some higher elevation areas dipping into the teens.
With snow showers in the forecast for Friday evening, early Saturday and then again in the evening, founding meterologist of OpenSnow.com Joel Gratz thinks there should be fresh tracks to be enjoyed on both Saturday and Sunday, and maybe even Monday.
“The last run on Saturday afternoon and more likely the first run on Sunday morning should be when we’ll enjoy the softest snow from this storm,” Gratz wrote on his blog.
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OpenSnow.com currently predicts eight inches of snow on Saturday, three on Sunday and then another two early Monday. “It’ll be something to watch to see if we can eke out additional soft turns on Monday morning,” Gratz wrote.
As for places to make those turns, there are less options as the season winds down. Vail Mountain closed the Cascade Lift (No. 20), Pride Express (No. 26) the Game Creek Express (No. 7) and the Gopher Hill lift (No. 12) in Golden Peak on Monday. Last week, lift access to Blue Sky Basin, Inner and Outer Mongolia Bowls, Siberia Bowl and China Bowl was also shut down for the season. The mountain is now 68% open with 12 lifts open, according to Vail’s terrain and lift status report.
The rest of the week’s forecast will be mostly dry with warmer temperatures in the 40s and 50s, followed by a chance of a closing weekend storm on Saturday.
Business editor Scott Miller contributed to this report.