Date: 01/25/2019

Cold, and moist northwest flow continued to produce cold smoke into the evening in favored mountains west of Crested Butte. Cold temperatures and moderate northwesterly winds will drop windchills into the -30ºF range as last night’s weak system slowly departs. We are squeezing any potential moisture out by the skin of our teeth with favorable orographics. A big, dreaded ridge of high pressure sits to our west, and the large scale trough lingers across the eastern half of the nation. Looking ahead, that westerly ridge slides overhead, bringing mostly dry conditions this weekend, with the next potential storm later next week.

• Today

  High Temperature: 10-15
  Winds/Direction: 15-25/NW G 40s
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 1-3″
  Elkton Snow: 1-3″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0-2″

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 0-5
  Winds/Direction: 10-20/NW G40s
  Sky Cover: Decreasing clouds
  Irwin Snow: 0-1″
  Elkton Snow: 0-1″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0-1″

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 18-23
  Winds/Direction: 5-15/NW
  Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

Date: 01/24/2019

The old “Clipper Storms”. That’s what it is going to be all about over the next few days. Small storms are dropping down the old Rocky Mountains on NW to SE flow and having various impacts to Colorado as they pass on by. Last nights clipper storm will start drying out early today. Looks like we should see clearing sky today, but moisture hangs out at lower elevations which makes me wonder if we’ll see some low valley clouds persist longer through the day. Orographics should keep snowfall and clouds around longer in the Paradise Divide and Irwin areas.

After a brief break today, we’ll see another small storm clip Colorado Thursday Night. Not much is expected out of this one. The next clipper rolls across Colorado Friday Night and this one looks better and should bring a few more inches of snow. Looks like drier weather for the weekend.

• Today

  High Temperature: 17 to 22
  Winds/Direction: 12 to 22 NW
  Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 1 to 3 AM
  Elkton Snow: 1 to 3 AM
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 1 to 3 AM

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 0 to 5
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20 NW
  Sky Cover: Mostly Clear
  Irwin Snow: 1 to 2
  Elkton Snow: 1 to 2
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 1 to 2

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 20 to 25
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20 WNW
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0 to 1
  Elkton Snow: 0 to 1
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0 to 1

Date: 01/23/2019

Its another day and we have another hit of snow coming our way! A system is dropping down out of the northwest and it looks like it is moving far enough south that the mountains around Crested Butte are going to pick up a nice refresh with around 6″ for the snow favored areas from Kebler Pass to Schofield Pass between this afternoon and Thursday morning. Expect lesser amounts for areas near and to the east of Crested Butte. Winds are forecasted to be blowing hard enough out of the WNW to drift the new snow around.

Two more shortwave systems will pass to the north of the Crested Butte area on Thursday night and Friday night so we will see some cloud cover but as of now, not much in the way of accumulating snowfall.

• Today

  High Temperature: 18 to 23
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20, WNW
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0 to 2″
  Elkton Snow: 0 to 2″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0 to 2″

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 2 to 7
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20, W
  Sky Cover: Overcast
  Irwin Snow: 2 to 4″
  Elkton Snow: 2 to 4″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 1 to 3″

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 18 to 23
  Winds/Direction: 13 to 23, WNW
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0 to 2″
  Elkton Snow: 0 to 2″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0 to 2″

Date: 01/22/2019

The low-pressure system from yesterday came in with very gusty SW winds reaching 70 mph up on Scarp Ridge after midnight the winds shifted direction to the NW. Snow totals range from 8″ in the Kebler Pass to Schofield Pass areas down to about 4″ at CBMR. Light orographic snow will continue to fall today in the snow favored areas to the west and north of town with the potential for a few more inches today. Interior parts of the range will likely see little to no accumulations. Air temperatures will be cool as we are on the back side of the system; you can expect temperatures to max out in the high teens for today. Tuesday night we will be sitting between storm as a northern system will barely clip the area on Wednesday; very little accumulation is expected with the possibility of 2″.

• Today

  High Temperature: 10 to 15
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20 G40, NNW
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0 to 2″
  Elkton Snow: 0 to 2″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0 to 1″

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: -5 to 0
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20, NW
  Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0 to 1″
  Elkton Snow: 0 to 1″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0 to 1″

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 17 to 22
  Winds/Direction: 8 to 18, WNW
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0 to 2″
  Elkton Snow: 0 to 2″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0 to 2″

Date: 01/21/2019

A strong low-pressure system is moving across the Great Basin this morning towards western Colorado. Winds will be strong on the front part of this system and will continue to blow as the trough axis passes by this afternoon and into tonight. This system has good energy and the potential for convection to create locally high precipitation rates where the convection sets up. We can expect 4 to 8 inches from this snowmaker by Tuesday morning. Expect snowfall to begin around noon and be prepared for very gusty winds during the day. Cold air will slide in on the back half of this system with air temperatures dropping for Tuesday.

• Today

  High Temperature: 20 to 25
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20 G50, SW
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 2 to 4″
  Elkton Snow: 2 to 4″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 2 to 4″

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: -1 to 4
  Winds/Direction: 14 to 24 G40, NW
  Sky Cover: Overcast
  Irwin Snow: 3 to 5″
  Elkton Snow: 3 to 5″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 3 to 5″

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 13 to 18
  Winds/Direction: 12 to 22 G40, NW
  Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

Date: 01/20/2019

Valley inversions stubbornly held on overnight, and will persist until our next storm system temporarily scours cold air out of the greater Gunnison Basin. Temperatures this morning are in the mid 20s at ridgetop, and sub zero in valley bottoms. High temperatures will be mild today, with light winds aloft shifting from northwest to southwest and mid to high level cloudiness increasing today as another Pacific storm moves across the Great Basin. On Monday, winds will increase, and snow should be falling by midday. Accumulations look to be in the 4-8” range. Still 36hrs out, but worth throwing out a teaser. Stay tuned.

• Today

  High Temperature: 28-33
  Winds/Direction: 10-20/NW to SW
  Sky Cover: Increasing clouds
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tonight

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

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 20-25
  Winds/Direction: 20-30/SW G50
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 4-8″
  Elkton Snow: 3-6″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 2-4″

Date: 01/19/2019

Cold, dry northwest flow kept stubborn orographic flurries into the night, but dawn is breaking clear and we should be treated to a perfect mid January day in the high Rockies. Light northwest winds should be on the decline, and temperatures should rise into the mid 20s. Enjoy the dry weather this weekend, as we look to have another system rolling into the Elk Mountains on Monday afternoon. Nothing as big as our last few storms, but the area mountains should squeeze some more measurable precipitation out by Tuesday.

• Today

  High Temperature: 25-30
  Winds/Direction: 10-20/NW G40
  Sky Cover: Mostly Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tonight

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

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 30-35
  Winds/Direction: 5-15/N
  Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

Date: 01/18/2019

The abundant moisture that has been streaming into Colorado on SW flow overnight has made a lovely impact on Colorado with good snow totals for many areas and mountains. Precipitation rates look to start backing down after sunrise this morning. We’ll probably see lingering snow showers through noon in the Crested Butte Area as a building ridge to our west starts shutting down the moisture tap. Orographic snow showers should continue longer in the Kebler Pass and Paradise divide area as the flow becomes to west and northwest throughout the day. A cold front has also moved in with temperatures continuing to drop after sunrise and they will be slow to increase today. Dry weather is in the forecast for the weekend. Models are showing some moisture coming over the ridge that could lead to high clouds on Saturday and we’ll have to see how far the moisture pushes into Colorado. The next storm lines up Sunday night, ya baby!

• Today

  High Temperature: 18 to 22
  Winds/Direction: 15 to 25 WNW G35
  Sky Cover: Overcast
  Irwin Snow: 4 to 6
  Elkton Snow: 4 to 6
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 3 to 5

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 5 to 10
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20 NW
  Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0 to 2
  Elkton Snow: 0 to 2
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0 to 2

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 20 to 25
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20 NW G30
  Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

Date: 01/17/2019

Wednesday’s storm was just the pre-show warmup. The real performance is about to take the stage. Thursday will be a transition day. High clouds will begin increasing this morning, after last nights clear sky. We are looking ahead to a mostly cloudy sky with a few breaks. Moisture, like lots of moisture, is about to begin streaming into Colorado on southwest to west flow. Snow showers will begin late today and intensify overnight. We have good moisture, lift, and favorable flow, it’s on people! The temperature at the start of this storm will be fairly warm, with colder air moving in later in the storm. Friday will see snow showers taper in general with some areas seeing those snows last a bit longer under NW flow. Drier weather will take us through the weekend with another storm coming in for early next week.

• Today

  High Temperature: 25 to 30
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20 WSE
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 1 to 2 PM
  Elkton Snow: 1 to 2 PM
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 1 to 2 PM

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 14 to 19
  Winds/Direction: 15 to 25 G 35, WSW
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 15 to 17
  Elkton Snow: 12 to 14
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 10 to 12

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 15 to 20
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20 NW
  Sky Cover: Overcast
  Irwin Snow: 4 to 6
  Elkton Snow: 4 to 6
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 3 to 5

Date: 01/16/2019

Last night the first shortwave began to impact the area with 2.5″ at Irwin, nearly 3″ at CBMR, and Schofield Pass at an estimated 5″ as of 5:15 am. The low-pressure system is still well to the west and will bring a shift in flow direction from SW to W during the day which will help to provide good orographic lift for the Crested Butte area especially from Kebler Pass to Schofield Pass. This system will likely drop another 8+ inches during the day with strong westerly winds blowing the new snow around. Thursday will dry out with little snow, but westerly winds will continue to blow in front of the second system in this back to back punch. Thursday night and Friday will bring another round of heavy snowfall with the potential for another foot according to current models.

• Today

  High Temperature: 21 to 26
  Winds/Direction: 12 to 22 G30, W
  Sky Cover: Overcast
  Irwin Snow: 6 to 10″
  Elkton Snow: 6 to 10″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 5 to 9″

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 11 to 16
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20, W
  Sky Cover: Overcast
  Irwin Snow: 1 to 3″
  Elkton Snow: 1 to 3″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0 to 2″

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 10 to 15
  Winds/Direction: 13 to 23, WSW
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0 to 1″
  Elkton Snow: 0 to 1″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0 to 1″