Recent Mountain Snow Keeps Colorado Snowpack Far Above Normal
DENVER (CBS4) - The storm that relentlessly slammed the Colorado mountains for four straight days has helped to maintain robust snowpack numbers across all eight river basins in the state. Some ski areas measured nearly 4 feet of snow from the storm that arrived Dec. 12 and finally departed on Dec. 15.
Total snowfall at ski areas over the last week:
Breckenridge: 43"
Wolf Creek: 41"
Monarch 33"
Winter Park 28"
Vail 28"
Beaver Creek 25"
Arapahoe Basin: 24"
Aspen Mountain: 24"
Keystone 23"
Crested 23"
Copper Mountain: 22"
Steamboat 22"
The statewide average snowpack is currently 133%, meaning there is 33% more snow statewide compared to normal through the middle of December.
The South Platte basin which includes Denver and the entire Front Range has the most impressive snowpack for this point in the season. The river basin is at 143% of normal.
Healthy snowpack numbers this time of year usually translates to less risk for significant drought and destructive wildfires the following spring and summer. Of course there is still a lot of snow season to go and things can change quickly.
In terms of the current drought situation, the weekly update will be released on Thursday. The update will likely show improvements compared to last week when 72% of Colorado was still considered "abnormally dry", 56% of the state was experiencing moderate or severe drought.
The next seven days in Colorado appear mainly dry. Snow is not likely to return until at least next Tuesday (Christmas Eve). And yes, it's possible there could be snow falling in the Denver metro area on Christmas Day. We'll keep you posted!
