After a fairly dry and uneventful first half of October, the first major storm of the season has finally hit Utah and Colorado, bringing a mix of surprises, some underperformances, and even a few early openings. We saw some unexpected snowfall totals, and the excitement is already building as we head into winter. Let’s dive into the details of what went down and what’s coming over the next few weeks.
Storm Recap
The past week brought some interesting snowfall across Utah and Colorado. While it didn't always match our expectations, it still laid down a solid foundation and got the excitement rolling for the season ahead.
Utah
In the Wasatch mountains, mid-mountain elevations received 5-8 inches of snow. This underperformed compared to earlier predictions, mostly due to warmer temperatures and a pesky wind shift to the north that blocked the main precipitation from hitting Little Cottonwood Canyon. Regardless, it still marked the first big snow of the season, and let’s be honest, any fresh snow in October is a good thing! There were some skiers out enjoying what they could get, and the stoke was high. Check out this video from The Daily Pow at Alta:
On a more positive note, the high Uintas, as we forecasted saw impressive accumulation. Remote stations across the range reported between 15 and 20 inches of snowfall.
Colorado
As the storm moved east, Colorado got its fair share of snowfall, and in true fashion, the results were a mix of what we expected and a few pleasant surprises. Southern Colorado took the biggest hit, with Wolf Creek seeing just shy of 2 FEET of snow – not bad for October! They’re planning to open on Tuesday, October 22nd, following the big dump! Not far behind, Purgatory clocked in with 16 inches, and Telluride ended up with around 8 inches. Wolf Creek looks beautiful with sunny skies this morning as their team prepares the mountain to open:
Further north, Aspen/Snowmass exceeded all model expectations with 3-6 inches at the four mountains (with additional snow expected later today). Originally, models showed just an inch or two for these spots, but we at Powderchasers anticipated a bit more, calling for 4-8 inches in our forecast from Thursday. Here's the Ajax snow stake, where additional snowfall is still building on this total:
The Front Range and I-70 corridor also got in on the action, especially early Monday morning when the snow really piled up. So far, Arapahoe Basin is sitting at 8 inches, Loveland picked up 10, Breckenridge got 7, Vail recorded 4, and Beaver Creek rounded out with 3 inches. Winter Park also reported about 6 inches. There’s still some snow falling, so a couple more inches are possible through the early afternoon. Check out A-Basin's snow stake this morning:
Looking Ahead
Let’s talk about what’s coming up this week and next. We’ve got a couple of storms in play that are worth watching.
Ongoing Storms
Right now, two main systems are influencing the region. First, the remnants of the cutoff low that hit Utah are still bringing some lingering snow to Colorado through Monday afternoon. Second, there's a warm and wet system affecting the Pacific Northwest (PNW), with snow levels above 5,000 feet, leading to rain at lower elevations and mixed precipitation around 5,000 feet, impacting many resorts in the region. Those levels are expected to drop to around 4,500 feet by the end of the precipitation on Tuesday.
Midweek Clearing & Clipper Storm
Things will clear up briefly until Wednesday morning, when a quick, short-lived storm will move into the PNW. This system will stick around until Thursday afternoon but won't be too significant for the PNW itself. Instead, most of the moisture will spread across central Oregon, Idaho, southern Montana, and Wyoming. We're looking at 1-4 inches of snow for most areas, with up to 6 inches in the highest elevations. It won't be a major storm, but it’ll add a bit of fresh accumulation to hold us over until the next big storm cycle kicks off this weekend. Below is the ECMWF and GFS forecasts for this storm. The ECMWF is more optimistic about snowfall, with the deepest totals in central Idaho and southern Montana:
Expect more details on this storm in the next few days as the high-resolution models come into range.
Weekend Storm
Speaking of which, our eyes are on a more sizeable storm set to begin early Saturday morning in the PNW. Details are still vague, with models not yet in agreement about snow levels or where the heaviest precipitation will hit. We expect to have more clarity by midweek, so stay tuned for further updates as we lock in the details. What we do know is that storminess should persist into early next week, possibly extending further. Some models even show this storm pushing down into California—though it’s too early to say for sure, so keep it in the back of your mind but remain cautious with expectations.
This storm has the potential to bring a classic La Niña setup—light to moderate but steady snowfall across Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, northern Utah, and northern Colorado for several days. If it does manage to push into California, southern and central Utah and Colorado could also get a nice refresh. As for temperatures, it might be too warm for major accumulation in the PNW this weekend, but next week things could change.
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