Colorado

Ski season starts in 10 weeks. Here’s your (tentative) 2024-25 Colorado snow forecast.

Published

1 year ago

August 21, 2024

Ski season starts in 10 weeks. Here’s your (tentative) 2024-25 Colorado snow forecast.

What’s harder to predict in August, snowfall at Colorado resorts in the middle of winter or the teams that will meet in the Super Bowl next February?

You might have a good feel for which two teams have the most talent, but what if one loses its star quarterback to a season-ending injury in November? You also might know that La Niña winters often result in above-average snowfall for Colorado’s high country, but sometimes La Niña winters result in well-below-average snow. That’s why meteorologists hedge when predicting conditions before Labor Day. Nevertheless, they try.

“I think the sports analogy is great,” says Alan Smith, a full-time meteorologist for the OpenSnow forecasting and reporting service. “You’re predicting future events, and you’re taking information that you have, but there’s so much information you don’t have, like injuries. You never know if a player on a team is going to suddenly explode that season – or regress.”

Still, anyone with an Epic or Ikon pass can’t help but wonder what kind of winter we will have. Labor Day is less than two weeks away, and the first Colorado ski area openings are apt to come in mid-October, most likely on man-made snow. So Smith provided his tentative 2024-2025 United States Winter Forecast Preview on the OpenSnow website.

Usually forecasts this time of year focus on the fluctuation of El Niño and La Niña in the eastern Pacific Ocean near the equator. Last ski season played out during a weak El Niño. Currently we’re in a transitional “neutral” status, but not for long.

“La Niña is favored to emerge during September-November (66% chance) and persist through the Northern Hemisphere winter 2024-25 (74% chance during November-January),” according to the Climate Prediction Center of the National Weather Service, which has issued a La Niña watch.

What does that mean for skiers and snowboarders in Colorado? Like betting on the Super Bowl this time of year, it’s all about the odds.

“El Niño and La Niña tend to get rated from weak to moderate to strong,” Smith said. “We never know for sure, but the trends seem to be pointing toward a weaker episode this year.”

Smith researched the six most recent weak La Niñas to see how Colorado resorts fared.

“Four of the six years were snowier than average, so that’s pretty decent odds,” Smith said. “However, one of those was well-below average. “That was in 2017-18, a very dry winter. If you expand it out to look at all La Niña years, Colorado does seem to have a boom-or-bust potential with La Niña.

“It tips the odds slightly in favor of being an above-average winter in the ski regions of Colorado,” he continued. “But sometimes the winters that end up below average that are La Niñas can be well below average.”

The winter of 2021-22 was a moderate La Niña and snowfall was decent, featuring a slow start but strong spring snows. The winter of 2022-23 was a weak La Niña that capped off a rare three-year “triple dip” La Niña. That was a fantastic season for Colorado resorts.

“November was cold and snowy,” Smith said of the 2022-23 winter. “It really jump-started the season, and it was consistent all season long — one of the most consistent winters I remember seeing.”

Last winter, under a strong El Niño, was slightly above average for snowfall. Now we get to guess the odds for this winter.

“There’s just so many factors you don’t know,” Smith said. “If you’re just looking at history, the odds tell us it’s slightly better than a 50-50 chance of being an above-average winter. But there’s always going to be that chance it could be a well-below-average winter.”

Colorado’s first ski area opening dates over the past five seasons

2019: Arapahoe Basin, Oct. 11

2020: Wolf Creek, Oct. 28

2021: Wolf Creek, Oct. 16

2022: Arapahoe Basin, Oct. 23

2023: Arapahoe Basin, Oct. 29

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Originally Published: August 21, 2024 at 11:03 a.m.

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Toyota Game Recap: 10/21/25 | Colorado Avalanche

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9 hours ago

October 22, 2025

Press Room

Toyota Game Recap: 10/21/25 | Colorado Avalanche

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A Meeting with the Mammoth | Colorado Avalanche

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1 day ago

October 21, 2025

Press Room

A Meeting with the Mammoth | Colorado Avalanche

Colorado Avalanche (5-0-1) @ Utah Mammoth (4-2-0)

8 p.m. MT | Delta Center | Watch: ESPN | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (92.5 FM)

For the second time this month, the Colorado Avalanche will face their Central Division foes, the Utah Mammoth. The Avalanche defeated the Mammoth 2-1 in their first meeting on October 9th, and the teams will meet again in Denver on December 23rd and in Salt Lake City on February 25th.

Saturday Night Success

Nathan MacKinnon scored twice to help the Avalanche defeat the Boston Bruins 4-1 and improve to 5-0-1 on Saturday at Ball Arena. In addition to winning its last three games, Colorado is one of two teams that remains undefeated in regulation. Josh Manson and Martin Necas each scored for Colorado while Scott Wedgewood stopped 13 of the 14 shots he faced. The Avalanche outshot the Bruins 38-14, including 31-7 in the second and third periods. Boston’s John Beecher opened the scoring at 3:11 of the first period with a goal from the left circle. MacKinnon tied the game at 7:08 of the first period with his fifth goal of the season via a mini breakaway set up by Artturi Lehkonen’s feed after he intercepted a Bruins pass. At 10:22 of the opening frame, Manson gave the Avs a 2-1 lead with his first goal of the season via a one-timer from the point set up by Brent Burns shortly after an offensive-zone faceoff. MacKinnon doubled the Avs’ lead at 4:14 of the third period with his second goal of the game and sixth of the season via a right-circle one-timer set up by Lehkonen. Necas gave the Avs a 4-1 lead at 17:23 of the third period with his fourth goal of the season via an empty-net tally.

Leading the Way

Nate the Great

MacKinnon is tied for second in the NHL in goals (6) and tied for fifth in points (10).

All Hail Cale

Among NHL defensemen, Cale Makar is tied for first in points (7) while being tied for second in goals (2) and assists (5).

Marty Party

Necas is tied for fifth in the league in points (10) and tied for seventh in assists (6).

Series History

In four previous games against Utah, Colorado is 3-1-0, including a 2-0-0 record in Salt Lake City.

Defending Home Ice

The Utah Mammoth defeated the Boston Bruins 3-2 at Delta Center on Sunday. In the first period, Utah’s Logan Cooley opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 4:20 and Boston’s David Pastrnak answered with a power-play tally of his own at 14:38. In the middle frame, Pastrnak gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead with his second goal of the night at 5:46 before Clayton Keller tied the game at 15:57. Dylan Guenther scored the game-winning goal for the Mammoth at 10:37 of the third period.

Making Their Mark Against the Mammoth

MacKinnon has posted six points (2g/4a) in four games against the Mammoth.

In three contests against Utah, Lehkonen has recorded three goals.

Brock Nelson has registered three points (1g/2a) in three games against the Mammoth.

Scoring in Salt Lake City

Nick Schmaltz leads the Mammoth in points (9) and is tied for first in goals (3) and assists (6).

Guenther is tied for the team lead in goals (3), third in points (5) and tied for third in assists (2).

Keller is second on the Mammoth in points (7) and assists (5) while being tied for third in goals (2).

A Numbers Game

.954

In the Avs’ past three games, Wedgewood has posted a .954 save percentage, a 1.00 goals-against average and a 3-0-0 record. He was named the NHL’s third star of the week.

1.5

Colorado is allowing a league-fewest 1.5 goals per game.

15

Colorado’s 15 goals at five-on-five are the third most in the NHL.

Quote That Left a Mark

“Overall, I don’t think there was a whole lot to it,” Gabriel Landeskog said about the game. “I thought we deserved to win. We played really well 5-on-5, [limited] their scoring chances for the most part. Obviously, there are things we can do better, but overall, a good W.”

— Avalanche Captain Gabriel Landeskog on the team’s win on Saturday

Kick off the Avalanche season with a 7-day free trial to the all-new Altitude+ — now redesigned and packed with powerful new features! Use promo code AVS7FREE at *Altitudeplus.com* — then download the app and start streaming today! Offer Expires 10/31/25

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High fire danger and strong winds across Colorado Monday

Published

2 days ago

October 20, 2025

Press Room

High fire danger and strong winds across Colorado Monday

Monday is a First Alert Weather Day in Colorado as strong winds and very dry air create critical fire weather conditions.

CBS

The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning through this evening for the I-25 Corridor, the Front Range Foothills, and much of the northeast plains. Wind gusts between 45 and 55 mph will be common, with some foothill areas briefly seeing gusts as high as 70 mph. The strong winds are also causing patchy blowing dust on the plains, reducing visibility at times.

In the mountains, a quick burst of snow moved through early Monday morning, along and north of the I-70 corridor. Conditions are expected to improve by midday as drier air moves in.

Winds will ease later this afternoon and evening, setting the stage for a Freeze Warning overnight for parts of the I-25 corridor and adjacent plains.