Colorado Rockies See Big Boost From Recent Winter Storm

It's been a mild winter season so far on Colorado’s Western Slope. We’ve experienced a couple of cold spells since the start of the season in December, but have had very few widespread snow events. We finally got one last week.

The storm that blew through Western Colorado from February 18 to 20 seemed like the first major snow event of the season. The big question now: where did it really snow the most?

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Statewide Snow Totals — The Big Picture

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The clear winner over the past week was Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, with widespread snow totals of 12 to 18 inches and higher totals in the San Juans to the southwest, according to The Denver Gazette. As expected, it takes more than one strong snowstorm to get our snowpack back on track. While the USDA NRCS SNOTEL data says this was a healthy dose of snow, it did not reset Colorado’s seasonal snowpack outlook by much.

Colorado Ski Resorts — Who Got the Most Snow

As forecasted, ski country saw the most significant gains from this storm. According to Powder’s Colorado snow report, the highest snow totals were reported at Wolf Creek and other resorts, with multi-day totals topping two feet. Resorts in the central Rockies also report healthy double-digit totals, which will improve surface conditions for peak winter skiing. Breakdown of resort-reported totals over the past 72 hours to week:

• Wolf Creek: 58 inches
• Purgatory: 30 inches (72 hr)
• Crested Butte: 28 inches
• Aspen Highlands: 23 inches
• Snowmass: 25 inches
• Vail Mountain: 18 inches
• Breckenridge, Keystone: 6–11 inches

Regional Breakdown: Mountains, Foothills & Front Range

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The heaviest snow all fell above 8000 feet, especially in the San Juan Mountains and the high passes. With this storm, elevation once again decided who got buried and who got brushed. Posts on social media from the Grand Mesa lodge mentioned nearly three feet of fresh snow, and they even shared an avalanche video on Sunday morning.