Date: 12/20/2019

Dry conditions and mostly clear skies with cold valley inversions will continue across our forecast area today and into the weekend. The strong ridge of high pressure will slowly track over the western United States through Monday. Looking ahead to early next week, the potential for snow does creep into the picture, but at this point, the southern mountains look favored. Still a ways out, but the chances for a whiter Christmas still remain good.

• Today

  High Temperature: 25-30
  Winds/Direction: 5-10/WSW
  Sky Cover: Mostly Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 5-15
  Winds/Direction: 5-10/SW
  Sky Cover:
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 35-40
  Winds/Direction: 5-10/SW
  Sky Cover: Mostly Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

Date: 12/19/2019

Though moderated a bit by overnight cloud cover, cold overnight temperatures persist, with strong valley inversions settling into the Gunnison and East River valleys. This morning Crested Butte hovers around -10ºF while just uphill on Mount Crested Butte, its a balmy 20 above zero! Thats a 30 degree spread 1200 vertical feet. Look for another dry, classic sunny Colorado day. Light southwesterly winds bringing in warmer temperatures and todays highs at 11,000ft in the mid 20s. Looking ahead, the next snow producer continues to take shape in the central Pacific and potentially impacts our area for Christmas.

• Today

  High Temperature: 22-27
  Winds/Direction: 5-10/WSW
  Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: -5 to 0
  Winds/Direction: 5-10/SW
  Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 25-30
  Winds/Direction: 5-10/SW
  Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

Date: 12/18/2019

Strong inversions set up again under a clear overnight sky. Valley temps dropped near -20, while 11,000ft temperatures have been on a steady increase overnight and currently in the positive teens this morning. We are transitioning into southwest flow under a high-pressure ridge. Warmer air is already starting to push in, and this will help those mountain temperatures warm to near 30 degrees today. Valley temperatures may struggle to climb in the same fashion if the inversions stay put.

Clouds will start increasing later today and keep increased clouds in the forecast throughout Thursday as small low-pressure moves through. Unfortunately, there isn’t any precipitation associated with this system. A high-pressure ridge is back for Friday and dry weather continues into the weekend.

• Today

  High Temperature: 27 to 31
  Winds/Direction: 5 to 15, SSW
  Sky Cover: Increasing clouds
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 14 to 18
  Winds/Direction: 5 to 15 SSW
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 22 to 26
  Winds/Direction: 5 to 15, WNW
  Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

Date: 12/17/2019

Cold and dry. Here we go, that’s the forecast. A high-pressure ridge is working its way over the intermountain west. Clearing sky overnight has allowed low temperatures this morning to drop down to the -20 range in the valleys and the negative single digits in the mountains. A clear sky will at least help fight the cold today, with the warmth of the sun, and high temperatures in the mountains will work into the teens. We’ll see another frigid night on Tuesday, then a better rebound in temperatures on Wednesday. Wednesday looks like a lovely day in the mountains with clear sky and light winds. We’ll have some clouds returning on Thursday as a disturbance passes to our south, then back to high pressure towards the weekend.

• Today

  High Temperature: 14 to 18
  Winds/Direction: 7 to 17 NW
  Sky Cover: Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: -3 to 1
  Winds/Direction: 5 to 15, NW
  Sky Cover: Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 27 to 31
  Winds/Direction: 5 to 15, SSW
  Sky Cover: Mostly Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

Date: 12/16/2019

The last storm is working its way east of Colorado. We’ll still be dealing with some moisture and clouds on Monday, before drying out Monday Night. We are sitting under northerly flow and the temperatures have already started to drop. Cold single-digit and below zero temps are coming up for the next few days.

A high-pressure ridge will be arriving Monday night. So we’ll get some lovely clear sky, but those low temperatures will really drop overnight on Tuesday and Wednesday morning. We’ll see some clouds around Thursday, then head back into another high-pressure ridge as we look later in the week. So, unfortunately, there isn’t any snow in this week’s forecast.

• Today

  High Temperature: 5 to 9
  Winds/Direction: 7 to 17, NNW
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0 to 1
  Elkton Snow: 0 to 1
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0 to 1

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: -11 to -15
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20, NNW
  Sky Cover: Mostly Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 12 to 16
  Winds/Direction: 5 to 15, NW
  Sky Cover: Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

Date: 12/15/2019

Winds have eased and become light overnight, while snowfall also tapered off after midnight. The moisture stream has now moved to our south. A short wave trough will be passing over Colorado today. Models show us staying just to the north of that main moisture feed, so if that holds up we are only talking about a little new snow this afternoon. If that model guidance is wrong and the moisture pushes a bit further north then we could see more snow adding up this afternoon and into the evening.

Heading into Monday the Temperatures will be dropping as we sit under northerly flow. The mountains will see high temperatures in the single digits and low temperatures in the negatives. By Tuesday a large high pressure will be overhead bringing clears sky and continued cold temperatures.

• Today

  High Temperature: 16 to 20
  Winds/Direction: 5 to 15, NNW
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 1 to 3
  Elkton Snow: 1 to 3
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0 to 2

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: -6 to -2
  Winds/Direction: 5 to 15, NNW
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0 to 2
  Elkton Snow: 0 to 2
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0 to 2

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 5 to 9
  Winds/Direction: 7 to 17, NNW
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0 to 1
  Elkton Snow: 0 to 1
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0 to 1

Date: 12/14/2019

All the ingredients are lining up for another good dose of snowfall across our forecast area today into Sunday as the strong upper level jet stream slowly sags from the I-70 corridor southward into Gunnison County and the Elk Mountains tonight. Snow, heavy at times and strong westerly winds will continue throughout the day today creating near whiteout conditions near and above treelike once again. There may be a lull in snowfall midday, but should redevelop again this afternoon. Tonight, a sagging cold front will push the jet stream southward into the San Juans, shutting off the major moisture tap, but creating favorable west-northwest flow over our mountains into Sunday morning. Sunday should see improving visibility, backing winds and partial sunshine to return, especially in the afternoon.

• Today

  High Temperature: 20-25
  Winds/Direction: 20 G40-50/WNW
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 4-8″
  Elkton Snow: 4-8″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 3-6″

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 15-20
  Winds/Direction: 20 G40-50/W
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 2-4″
  Elkton Snow: 2-4″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 1-3″

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 15-20
  Winds/Direction: 15-25/NW
  Sky Cover: Decreasing clouds
  Irwin Snow: 1-3″
  Elkton Snow: 1-3″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0-2″

Date: 12/13/2019

A complicated, multi-stage storm will drop significant snow accompanied by strong westerly winds today through tomorrow. A well defined stream of moisture with origins near Hawaii will arc over Northern California and slam into the Elk Mountains riding a 170-200kt jet (impressive!) today, with models showing the heaviest snowfall early Saturday morning. Today, light snow will generally continue, with areas near Kebler and Schofield Passes will seeing the most steady orographic snow continue most of the day. Around sunset, snowfall with taper, before the next wallop arrives Friday night into Saturday. West-Northwest winds will continue to gust into the 40-50mph range above timberline throughout this event. Temperatures will remain quite mild in the mid to upper 20s and may even even rise into the lower 30s with the the moister airmass tomorrow. Today, look for daytime snow accumulations less than 6”, but the main event Friday night into Saturday should not disappoint. Total storm snow accumulations look to easily exceed 20” across the high terrain surrounding Crested Butte by Sunday morning.

• Today

  High Temperature: 20-25
  Winds/Direction: 20 G40-50/WNW
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 3-6″
  Elkton Snow: 3-6″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 2-4″

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 20-25
  Winds/Direction: 20 G40-50/WNW
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 4-8″
  Elkton Snow: 4-8″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 3-6″

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 25-30
  Winds/Direction: 25 G50-60
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 4-8″
  Elkton Snow: 4-8″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 3-6″

Date: 12/12/2019

We have another cold morning. Partly cloudy sky overnight helped those low temps again drop down to near 0 in the valleys and the low teens in the mountains. A Pacific river of moisture has made its way into the US and will give us a nice spray here in Colorado to close out the week. Clouds will be thickening on Thursday with some light snowfall late this afternoon. Then the action gets going on Thursday Night into Friday Morning. The snowfall ramps up on Thursday night, and by Friday morning we’ll have, good available moisture, good upper-level jet support, and WNW orographics kicking in. This all should line up for some heavy pulses of snow on Friday morning. The wind speeds will also be elevated during this time so get ready for some real winter storm conditions during the early AM hours of Friday.

The hose of moisture streaming into Colorado looks to falter a bit for a period of time on Friday. If this happens we’ll see an associate lull in snowfall. That moisture stream then realigns Friday Afternoon and into Saturday with an even better round of snow. By Sunday the moisture currently looks to sag south of our area, otherwise, we could see snow continue towards the end of the weekend if that moisture stays further north in later forecast model runs.

• Today

  High Temperature: 24 to 28
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20, West
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0 to 2
  Elkton Snow: 0 to 2
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0 to 2

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 16 to 20
  Winds/Direction: 15 to 25 G40, West
  Sky Cover: Overcast
  Irwin Snow: 5 to 8
  Elkton Snow: 5 to 8
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 4 to 7

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 20 to 24
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20, West
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 2 to 4
  Elkton Snow: 1 to 3
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 1 to 3

Date: 12/11/2019

Ok, I want to talk quickly about today so we can move on to the snow baby! This morning valley low temperatures are again below zero while 11,000ft temperatures are in the high teens. Wind-speeds have decreased overnight and look to stay down for today. Upper-level moisture starts increasing this afternoon and we’ll see that with increasing clouds. Enough of that? Let’s move onto the snow part.

Thursday afternoon into the Friday AM hours is looking good for the snow bits. Westerly flow will bring a moisture tap stretching out to Hawaii. That moisture is looking good at both 500mb and 700mb during the above timeframe. In my perfect world, it could drop a bit further south and stay more consistent, but never the less we’ll have the stuff snowflakes are made of. The atmosphere will further be unstable and we’ll have strong winds aloft. So we are shaping up good. To call a foot of snow for this time period may be a bit dreamy at the moment, but it should stack up never the less. Dryer air moves in later on Friday, then more snow looks to be in the forecast for Saturday!

• Today

  High Temperature: 20 to 24
  Winds/Direction: 5 to 15, W
  Sky Cover: Increasing clouds
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 14 to 18
  Winds/Direction: 5 to 15, W
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0 to 1
  Elkton Snow: 0 to 1
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0 to 1

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 24 to 28
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20, W
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0 to 2
  Elkton Snow: 0 to 2
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0 to 2