Snow Expected In Colorado This Weekend, but Most Resorts Are Closed

Colorado has one worthwhile short-term powder window.

Saturday, April 11, 2026, brings only spotty mountain showers, warm snow levels, and gusty convective winds, so the payoff stays limited. The cleaner shot comes from Monday evening, April 13, through Tuesday night, April 14, when snow spreads back across the Divide and gives the open I-70 resorts a modest but useful refresh.

This is not a blockbuster storm. The guidance lines up well on the timing of the Tuesday storm and on snow levels dropping low enough to keep every major summit all snow, but totals still vary quite a bit from one solution to the next.

The most realistic call is a moderate-density Tuesday refresh, led by Arapahoe Basin and Loveland, while confidence drops quickly after Tuesday night as another colder wave tries to organize later in the week.

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Colorado Ski Resort Snowfall Totals: April 13-14, 2026

• Copper Mountain: 2-3 inches.
• Monarch: 2-3 inches (closed).
• Beaver Creek: 2-4 inches (closed).
• Crested Butte: 3-4 inches (closed).
• Snowmass: 3-5 inches (closed).
• Steamboat: 3-5 inches (closed).
• Telluride: 3-5 inches (closed).
• Loveland: 3-6 inches.
• Arapahoe Basin: 4-7 inches.
• Wolf Creek: 5-8 inches (closed).

Storm Timing and Discussion

The first wave on Saturday is weak and warm. The guidance is largely converging on scattered afternoon and evening showers with high snow levels around 9500 to 11500 feet and brief gusty winds, so most areas only see a nuisance coating at best. That keeps Saturday out of true chase territory, especially with temperatures staying mild enough for denser snow on the highest peaks.

The better window arrives late Monday into Tuesday. Here, the guidance converges on timing and does a decent job lining up snow levels, generally falling into the 6000 to 9000 foot range, but it still diverges on intensity. The drier camp keeps many I-70 areas closer to 1-3 inches, while the wetter camp pushes Arapahoe Basin and Loveland toward a much healthier refresh. Splitting that spread supports a solid but not huge storm, with moderate-density snow and ridge gusts mostly in the 20-35 mph range. Wolf Creek should pick up 5-8 inches by Tuesday night, but it is closed.

Among the open ski areas, Arapahoe Basin looks best at 4-7 inches, Loveland is close behind at 3-6 inches, and Copper Mountain and Winter Park are more in the 2-4 inch range.

Confidence is highest from Monday evening, April 13, through Tuesday night, April 14. After that, the guidance diverges sharply on timing, intensity, snow levels, and wind. One camp brings a light refresh as early as Thursday night into Friday, while others wait until Saturday or Sunday and still disagree on whether it is just a few inches or a broader multi-day mountain event. The colder solutions would lower snow levels quickly, but they also bring more wind to exposed terrain, so the late-week setup is better treated as potential rather than a firm powder call.

Daily Chase Recommendations

Each day’s snowfall range combines the previous night (4 p.m.-8 a.m.) and that day (8 a.m.-4 p.m.).

Tuesday, April 14, 2026

Arapahoe Basin should offer the best Tuesday chase in Colorado with 3-5 inches of moderate-density snow and cool enough temperatures to keep quality high on the upper mountain.

Loveland is the backup Tuesday play with 2-4 inches of moderate-density snow and enough cold air to keep conditions chalky if ridge winds stay manageable.

Extended Outlook

After Tuesday’s system, Colorado should turn quieter for a short stretch before another western trough tries to brush the state later in the week. The broader pattern still leans warmer than normal overall rather than locked into a sustained wet cycle, so expect a midweek break, then a more uncertain chance for more mountain snow from late Friday into the weekend, with the northern and central high terrain favored if the colder solutions win out.

Related: Miracle Storm To Dump 2-3 Feet of Snow on California’s Ski Resorts