Six Colorado ski resorts received 20 inches or more of fresh snow in recent days, and a dozen more saw double-digit totals, but base depths remain well below normal across the state.
Vail led the way with 27 inches from the most recent storm system, with Copper Mountain (24) and Steamboat (21) not far behind.
Arapahoe Basin, Breckenridge and Eldora picked up 20. Areas receiving 15-19 inches included Winter Park, Snowmass, Keystone, Aspen, Loveland and Monarch.
Every ski area except Purgatory, Monarch and Crested Butte has a base depth that is less than 80% of normal, though. That’s not likely to change anytime soon, according to the OpenSnow forecasting and reporting service.
“More terrain should slowly open this week, but unfortunately, there is little snow in the forecast for the next two weeks, so our snowpack will likely stay below average through the third week of December,” OpenSnow founding meteorologist Joel Gratz wrote in his Monday update.
There is a chance of snow around Dec. 17, Gratz wrote, “but the odds of significant snow are low, as most of the storminess will remain to the north of Colorado.”
Eighteen ski areas have base depths that are 60% to 75% of normal, including Vail, Keystone, Arapahoe Basin, Loveland, Eldora, Copper Mountain and Breckenridge. Beaver Creek is at 54%.
The forecast isn’t great for Utah, either.
“A ridge of high pressure is going to keep Utah mostly dry and mild for at least the next week,” wrote OpenSnow Utah forecaster Evan Thayer, “likely longer.”
It could be worse. The Jackson Hole-Targhee area in Wyoming is expecting rain this week.
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