Mountain Weather for 11,000ft. Thursday 4/16

CB Avalanche CenterWeather

Date: 04/16/2020

Well we got most of the things, moisture, an unstable atmosphere, jet support, cold front, now we are just waiting for the things to do their thing and produce that snow! Snowfall started around midnight with accumulations at 5am in the 1 to 2 inch range. We still have the chance to see snow accumulations get close to 10” by sunset for the Kebler Pass and Paradise Divide areas, even upper Brush Creek, and of course much less east of those areas in Crested Butte and the low valleys. The heaviest snowfall looks to occur before 1 pm today, then it eventually starts to taper off going into Friday.

I’m having some doubts this morning in hitting the higher snow numbers. The WRF is now showing the areas that will see 10” and more of snow, staying on the north side of the Elk Mountains and other parts of Colorado. The RAP and HRRR show a better distribution of snow in the 4 to 7” range. We got snow in the forecast and that’s what matters. Now we need to see where it falls.

Upper-level winds are going to be gusting in the 60+ range and we’ll see some strong winds mixing down in elevation today. Those strong winds start to taper off into Friday. Unseasonably cold temperatures remain through Friday.

  • Today

    High Temperature: 28 to 32
    Winds/Direction: 10 to 20 G30/WSW
    Sky Cover: Overcast
    Irwin Snow: 5 to 7
    Elkton Snow: 5 to 7
    Friend’s Hut Snow: 5 to 7

  • Tonight

    Low Temperature: 14 to 18
    Winds/Direction: 5 to 15/W
    Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
    Irwin Snow: 0 to 2
    Elkton Snow: 0 to 2
    Friend’s Hut Snow: 0 to 2

  • Tomorrow

    High Temperature: 30 to 34
    Winds/Direction: 5 to 15/W
    Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy
    Irwin Snow: 0 to 1
    Elkton Snow: 0 to 1
    Friend’s Hut Snow: 0 to 1