Christmas Eve – Boxing Day:
We have nice weather for Sunday through Tuesday. We expect partly-mostly sunny skies and highs into the 40s.
Wednesday Storm:
We will see increasing clouds and southerly winds on Wednesday, with ridgetop gusts up to 60-70+ mph. That could close some exposed upper mountain lifts. Highs near 40 degrees at the base and 30s for the upper mountain. The latest model runs show a few showers possibly reaching the crest Wednesday afternoon but still show most of the precipitation falling Wednesday night with this fast-moving system.
Snow levels look to start high, up around 8000-8500 ft. as the first showers approach. But the drier air in place should help with evaporational cooling and then a little colder air moves in along with heavier precip rates briefly to help drag snow levels close to the base Wednesday evening. But then jumping back up to 7000-7500 ft. as the precip tapers overnight.
That means we could see some flakes near the base, but not expecting more than a coating of snow. Above 7000 ft. on the mountain, we could see 1-3 inches of new snow by Thursday morning, with maybe up to 4 inches on the highest peaks.
Thursday:
Thursday we could see partly-mostly sunny skies as the storm clears out. The winds drop and highs warm to near 40 degrees at the base and 30s for the upper mountain.
Friday – Saturday Storm:
Currently, this system looks to have a bit more moisture than the first system. Rain and snow could push in around Friday evening with showers continuing through the day on Saturday.
Snow levels with this system could also start high, up around 8000-8500 ft. as the precipitation starts to push in. Then falling close to the base later Friday night into Saturday, in the 5500-6500 ft range.
That means that we could see 1-3 inches of new snow at the base with this system based on the latest model averages. The mountain could see 2-5 inches of snow above 7000 ft, with up to 6 inches on the highest peaks.
New Year’s Eve – Day:
The latest model runs show drier weather for New Year’s Eve into New Year’s Day. Temperatures could continue to be near 40 degrees near the base and 30s up on the mountain during the day.
Long-Range Forecast:
Troughing is still forecast over the region through the first week of January, but only weak storms look likely to move through during the week. The ensemble mean models show equal chances for above/below average precipitation.
We’ll continue to watch the trends for storms, but nothing overly exciting is showing up right now. Hopefully, we at least see another pair of storms that bring some fresh snow that week.
The long-range models continue to suggest a more favorable pattern for colder/wetter storms possibly developing by the 8th into the 2nd week of January. We’ll continue to watch the trends on that as well.
BA
