Date: 11/26/2018

BRRR….a cold morning in the Crested Bute area today. Dry northwest flow will persist for another day, which means the cold weather will continue through tomorrow. The current ridge of high pressure will push to the east by Tuesday and allow Pacific storms to move into our area by Thursday and likely continue into the weekend.

• Today

  High Temperature: 20 to 25
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 15, NW
  Sky Cover: Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 0 to 5
  Winds/Direction: 3 to 13, NW
  Sky Cover: Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 23 to 28
  Winds/Direction: 5 to 10, W
  Sky Cover: Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

Date: 11/25/2018

It will be one of those spectacular Colorado bluebird days today. As yesterday’s storm rolls off into the eastern plains, winds will slowly subside. Expect temperatures to rebound from this morning’s single digits into the mid 20s. High pressure will build over the next few days, but a train of storms are lining up for the second half of this week. Stay tuned.

• Today

  High Temperature: 22
  Winds/Direction: 10-20/WNW
  Sky Cover: Mostly Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0″
  Elkton Snow: 0″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0″

• Tonight

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

• Tomorrow

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

Date: 11/24/2018

The second round of snow has arrived in the Crested Butte area. Heavy snowfall began to ramp up at around midnight and will continue through Saturday and into Saturday night. This system is pushing down out of the northwest with ample moisture and energy. Strong winds will be associated with this storm. Expect west and northwest winds to blow around 20 to 30mph during the peak of the storm with gusts reaching as high as 50mph.

• Today

  High Temperature: 23 to 28
  Winds/Direction: 15 to 25 G60 W
  Sky Cover: Overcast
  Irwin Snow: 8 to 12″
  Elkton Snow: 8 to 12″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 7 to 10″

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 0 to 5
  Winds/Direction: 7 to 17 NW
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0 to 2″
  Elkton Snow: 0 to 2″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0 to 2″

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 15 to 20
  Winds/Direction: 5 to 15 NW
  Sky Cover: Mostly Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

Date: 11/23/2018

Wahoo…winters has arrived. A southwest to west system moved through our area yesterday and last night and deposited 5″ to 8″ of snow. Winds began from the southwest and rotated towards the northwest. Today you can expect to see continued light snowfall with limited accumulations. Tonight a second, more powerful, system will move into the forecast area from the northwest. This system will bring significant snowfall tonight and into tomorrow with strong winds at all elevation. Be prepared for our first major storm of the season beginning tonight. Snowfall will taper off tomorrow afternoon and end for the weekend.

• Today

  High Temperature: 25
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20 G30, West
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 1 to 3
  Elkton Snow: 1 to 3
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 1 to 3

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 18
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20 G 40 West
  Sky Cover: Overcast
  Irwin Snow: 8 to 12
  Elkton Snow: 8 to 12
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 6 to 10

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 25
  Winds/Direction: 20 to 30 G60 West
  Sky Cover: Overcast
  Irwin Snow: 8 to 12
  Elkton Snow: 8 to 12
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 6 to 10

Date: 11/22/2018

Just in time for the holidays….here comes ol’ man winter! Thanksgiving day will bring a long-awaited change to our warm and dry fall in the Elk Mountains. Our first storm will be arriving today with the bulk of the moisture hitting tonight and into early Friday morning. The stream of the atmospheric energy will be to the south which will help to keep winds on the lighter side, especially in the valleys, while offering a favorable southwest flow to begin this stormy weekend. The second and stronger storm will arrive Friday night and will come more from the northwest but with more moisture. The accompanying cold front dropping out of the north will bring strong winds and cold temperatures and up to a foot of snow by Saturday morning. Things will settle down Saturday afternoon and into Sunday, but temperatures will remain cold into next week as it looks like winter is here to stay for a while.

• Today

  High Temperature: 25
  Winds/Direction: W-SW 10-20 mph
  Sky Cover: Increasing clouds
  Irwin Snow: 1-3″
  Elkton Snow: 1-3″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 1-3″

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 15
  Winds/Direction: W-SW 15-25 mph
  Sky Cover: Overcast
  Irwin Snow: 4-6″
  Elkton Snow: 4-6″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 3-5″

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 20
  Winds/Direction: West 15-25
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 1-3″
  Elkton Snow: 1-3″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 1-3″

Date: 04/09/2018

We’re on the tail end of a shortwave trough passing through Northern Colorado. The mountains around Crested Butte are mostly seeing clouds from this disturbance but we could see another inch or so of snow early Monday morning. We’ll see breaking clouds today, especially in the afternoon with temperatures at 11,000ft climbing near freezing. A high-pressure ridge is pushing in by Tuesday bringing dry conditions and rising temperatures. Tuesday looks like a beautiful day to be in the mountains! Some clouds look to roll through on Wednesday then the next storm looks to line up for the end of the week around Thursday.

• Today

  High Temperature: 34
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20 Northwest
  Sky Cover: Decreasing clouds
  Irwin Snow: 0 to 1 AM
  Elkton Snow: 0 to 1 AM
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0 to 1 AM

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 18
  Winds/Direction: 5 to 15 West Northwest
  Sky Cover: Mostly Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 42
  Winds/Direction: 5 to 15, West
  Sky Cover: Mostly Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

Date: 04/08/2018

Thunder Snow!! As of 4:30am the cold front is currently dropping through the Elk Mountains with a few thunderstorms and lowering the snow line down below 10,000ft. We’ll see heavy precipitation and gusty winds as this front passes early Sunday morning. Precipitation will then decrease for Sunday with a few breaks in the clouds as drier air moves in from the northwest. A shortwave trough looks to pass to our north and east on Monday night keeping clouds in the forecast into Monday. A high-pressure ridge will then start building in and bring clear weather by Tuesday.

• Today

  High Temperature: 34
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20 gusts to 40, West Northwest
  Sky Cover: Decreasing clouds
  Irwin Snow: 2 to 4 AM
  Elkton Snow: 2 to 4 AM
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 1 to 3 AM

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 18
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20 West Northwest
  Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0 to 2
  Elkton Snow: 0 to 2
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0 to 2

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 34
  Winds/Direction: 5 to 15 Northwest
  Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

Date: 04/07/2018

Aaa, nothing like the tat tat of rain on the roof. My favorite….Not! Well, we had best get used to it because we are launching into a warm and wet storm. Northern California is getting slammed by an atmospheric river. That fire hose of moisture is going to make its way across the western US and line of for Colorado. Creating some intense precipitation late this afternoon and into Sunday morning. Warm air is also pushing into the area, raising the freezing level up high to around 11,500ft. So more tat tat tat on the roof today as we’ll see a mix of light rain and broken clouds. Much of the incoming moisture this afternoon and tonight will also fall as rain. Hopefully, the high precipitation rates around sunset help push the snow line down, but that snow/rain line could be around 11,000ft. A cold front will push into the area around 4 am on Sunday morning lowering the rain/snow line. The next much smaller storm looks to push through northern Colorado on Monday before a high-pressure ridge brings dry weather to our area on Tuesday.
Bottom line: We have a big storm lined up that is forecasted to bring significant snow accumulations above 12,000ft and rain below 11,000ft.

• Today

  High Temperature: 38
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20, West Southwest
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 1 to 3, or just rain?
  Elkton Snow: 1 to 3
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 1 to 3

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 25
  Winds/Direction: 15 to 25, West
  Sky Cover: Overcast
  Irwin Snow: 6 to 12
  Elkton Snow: 6 to 12
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 6 to 12

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 34
  Winds/Direction: 15 to 25, West Northwest
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 1 to 3
  Elkton Snow: 1 to 3
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 1 to 3

Date: 04/06/2018

Here we go folks, this is going to be weird. The 2017/18 well below average winter is coming back in, as a hot wet mess. A big old plume of moisture will be streaming into Colorado through the weekend. We’ll see snowfall pick up this morning and last through the day with the rain/snow line rising toward 10,000ft this afternoon. Precipitation decreases on Saturday as warm air pushes in. Rain, rain, rain, ew. Hopefully not very much of it on Saturday as the freezing level will be near 12,000ft. Available moisture really picks up Saturday night and this is going to be the most fun part of this weather event to watch. We’re talking lots of precipitation in some big convective cells. Rain levels will be high before a cold front pushes in early on Sunday. The rain/snow line will drop back down on Sunday and snow intensity will really ramp up for a few hours as the cold front moves through. Precipitation looks to last through Monday before a high-pressure ridge moves in by Tuesday.

• Today

  High Temperature: 34
  Winds/Direction: 5 to 15, West
  Sky Cover: Overcast
  Irwin Snow: 4 to 6
  Elkton Snow: 4 to 6
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 3 to 5

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 29
  Winds/Direction: 5 to 15, West
  Sky Cover: Overcast
  Irwin Snow: 3 to 5
  Elkton Snow: 3 to 5
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 2 to 4

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 40
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20, West Southwest
  Sky Cover: Overcast
  Irwin Snow: 1 to 3″ above 11,500ft
  Elkton Snow: 1 to 3″ above 11,500ft
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 1 to 3″ above 11,500ft

Date: 04/05/2018

If you liked yesterday’s weather, then you’ll love today. More of the same on tap. High clouds, a bit of wind.
Tonight the action begins, albeit slowly. The irony is as thick as last winter’s snowpack. After a season with near record-setting dryness, here we are approaching closing weekend at the resort and we’ve got another approaching storm like the one two weeks ago with potentially record-setting moisture.
Here’s the breakdown: After midnight tonight through mid-day tomorrow 2-5″ of snow will fall, with rain lines near 9,000′. Tomorrow afternoon we get a lull in precipitation, with swampy warm conditions, and a chance for isolated thunderstorms. Saturday the atmospheric river begins to impact the area, first with exceptionally warm and moist air, then Saturday night into Sunday morning it’s an all-out alpine rager with very high precipitation rates. At the valley floors, we’ll see more rain, but near 12,000′ we could see a couple feet of snow falling overnight. Stay tuned, this season is going out with a bang.

• Today

  High Temperature: 40
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20, gusting to 30, West
  Sky Cover: Increasing clouds
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 30
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20, West
  Sky Cover: Overcast
  Irwin Snow: 1 to 3″
  Elkton Snow: 1 to 3″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 1 to 3″

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 40
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20, West
  Sky Cover: Overcast
  Irwin Snow: 2 to 4″ in AM
  Elkton Snow: 1 to 3″ in AM
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 1 to 2″ in AM