“Trending Cold, Snowy in Colorado”: Meteorologist Sees Sign of Hope for Snow Fans and Skiers

Don’t break out the powder skis quite yet. 

But Jacob Woods, a meteorologist for FOX31 and CW 2, has spotted a sign that could be cause for cautious optimism among Colorado skiers and snow fans.

“I’m seeing the strongest signal that we’ve had all season long … for a prolonged duration of colder air and more active weather,” he wrote in a recent social media post. 

Although Woods added, in a parenthetical, that that’s “not saying much.” 

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A Bumpy Season

It’s true that for skiers, Colorado’s season has been largely disappointing. While this past weekend delivered some much-welcome powder, Woods pointed out that as of January 28, the state had been sitting at a record low snowpack for 16 straight days. 

The dry conditions have stifled some ski areas and limited terrain openings. The impact has been wide-ranging. For one, Denver7 recently reported that ski shops and resorts have been feeling the squeeze—without powder, skiers are, of course, less inclined to hit the slopes en masse. Sales have fallen 20% to 30% this season, one shop manager told the outlet, in an estimation.  

But the dwindling snowpack in Colorado and other western states raises concerns beyond skiing. According to NBC News, the lack of snow has left scientists worried about wildfires and water supplies. Mountain snow runoff in the spring and summer delivers water to farmers, communities, and power-generating dams. 

A Flurry of Hope

So, what prompted Woods to make his encouraging post? He pointed to images from weather models he shared.

“The first two images below are the European Weeklies which tend to predict very general long-range patterns well,” he wrote. “Notice the large pool of blues over the intermountain West which tells me an active storm track riding down the spine of the Rockies and jetting out toward the central Plains and Ohio Valley.”

The combined outputs, he noted, account for the period between February 11 and February 28. 

“With blocking over eastern Canada (which hasn’t happened yet all season), that favors cold air to build up in western Canada which storms will then tap into and drag south toward the West and Central US,” Woods continued. “This places Colorado in a prime spot for a train of storms starting mid-February.”

Again, though, Woods sounded a note of caution, writing, “This is a model. It’s not gospel.” The ideal setup can fail to deliver heavy snow, he explained.

And, at this point, according to Woods, it’s unlikely that Colorado can make up for what he called an “EXTREME lack of snow this year.” Still, the usual snowpack peak in the state is April 7, so, with a few months to go, a return to normal is possible, he wrote. 

In the meantime, he suggested watching the upcoming pattern closely, noting that other meteorologists have tapped in, too. 

“Let’s see how it plays out!” Woods wrote.

When the snow spigots shut off, dreaming a little never hurts, after all.

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