Colorado's Biggest Storm of the Season Lands Tuesday

Category: Storm Tracking | Reading Time: 4 min | Tags: storms, colorado, powder, avalanche

After a season that's had Colorado skiers checking snow reports and muttering under their breath, winter is finally showing up. And it's not messing around.

A two-part storm system rolls into the state Tuesday morning and doesn't let up until Thursday. The National Weather Service is calling for over two feet of snow on the highest peaks, with widespread 6-14 inch totals across the major ski corridors. The central and southern mountains -- think Aspen, Crested Butte, Telluride -- are positioned to get the deepest dumps.

The Numbers

Here's what NWS is forecasting through Thursday morning:

• Mount Zirkel (Park Range): 27 inches, up to 33" possible
• Cameron Pass / Milner Pass: 15 inches, up to 18" possible
• Muddy Pass (Kremmling): 14 inches, up to 17" possible
• Berthoud Pass / Willow Creek Pass: 10-12 inches, up to 14" possible
• Vail Pass / Hoosier Pass: 9 inches, up to 14" possible
• Winter Park: 9 inches, up to 10" possible
• Loveland Pass: 10 inches, up to 12" possible
• Breckenridge: 6 inches, up to 9" possible
• Keystone Summit: 7 inches, up to 10" possible
• Eldora: 6 inches, up to 7" possible

And this is just the first wave. More snow is forecast Friday into Saturday, with another system lining up for February 25-28. After months of thin coverage and icy groomers, Colorado might actually start looking like Colorado again.

The Catch: Avalanche Danger Goes Extreme

Here's where it gets serious. The Colorado Avalanche Information Center is warning of the most dangerous avalanche conditions of the season. High to extreme danger is forecast Tuesday through Thursday, especially in the central mountains.

An avalanche watch covers the Elk and West Elk Mountains from Tuesday morning through Friday evening. If you're thinking backcountry, think again -- or at least think very, very carefully. This storm is loading a weak snowpack with heavy new snow and 70 mph ridge winds. That's a textbook recipe for big slides.

Stick to the resorts this week. The ski patrol has your back inside the ropes.

Who Benefits Most?

Central mountains win big. The Gore, Elk, Flat Tops, and Park ranges are under a Winter Storm Warning from Monday night through Thursday morning. Aspen, Vail, Steamboat, and Winter Park are all positioned well.

Southern mountains are also looking strong -- Telluride and Crested Butte should see healthy totals from this system.

Front Range resorts like Eldora and the I-70 corridor (Loveland, A-Basin, Keystone, Breck) will see meaningful snow but not the jaw-dropping numbers the deeper ranges get.

What This Means for the Season

Let's be honest -- this season has been rough. The NYT ran a piece earlier this month titled "Western Ski Resorts and Their Terrible, Horrible, No Snow, Very Bad Year." Only 11% of western terrain was open by Thanksgiving. Rain instead of snow. Warm temps crushing the snowpack.

This storm doesn't fix everything. But back-to-back-to-back systems through late February? That's how you salvage a season. The base needs building, and this is the start.

Check our Ski This Week page for real-time conditions and forecasts across all 28 resorts. If you've been waiting for a reason to book that trip -- this is it.

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Updated: February 16, 2026. Forecast data from the National Weather Service and OpenSnow.