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Storm hits Fri thru Mon with Day-by-Day Discussion

By October 29, 2026No Comments

Colorado | Utah Weather Forecast October 29, 2026

Welcome Rocky Mountain Sled Conditions!

Big News! FutureSnow Is Teaming Up with Rocky Mountain Sled Conditions! What if you could identify the next big snowstorm weeks before it arrives?  Know when to be “sick” or take time off?

For those who haven’t heard of us, FutureSnow is a weather forecasting service that specializes in something a little different: predicting when significant winter storms may occur 30 to 60 days in advance.

While traditional weather forecasts focus primarily on the next several days, we cover that of course, but we look much farther down the road.

How Is That Possible? Our forecasting approach is based on a fascinating characteristic of the atmosphere: wave patterns cycle and repeat.

By identifying these patterns and tracking how they evolve, we forecast when favorable storm setups return weeks and even months later.

The storms won’t necessarily be identical. Their strength, location, and snowfall amounts can change. But recognizing the recurring atmospheric setup can provide valuable clues about future storm opportunities.

Our Track Record

FutureSnow has been making and documenting long-range storm predictions for years.

In one of our published evaluations, we recorded nearly 90% accuracy in identifying predicted snowstorm events, with an average forecast lead time of 36 days within a day of the forecasted storm.

Long-range forecasting is never perfect, and these results represent our own historical verification. But they demonstrate why we believe there is tremendous potential in studying recurring weather patterns.

What Does This Mean for Snowmobilers?

Imagine being able to identify a potential major storm window in the Snowy Range, Rabbit Ears Pass, Togwotee, or the mountains of Montana and Idaho several weeks ahead of time.

Instead of choosing your trip dates and hoping the snow cooperates, you could use our long-range forecasts to help identify promising opportunities before making your plans.

And as those dates approach, we’ll follow the latest weather models to refine the forecast.

RMSC will continue providing the detailed snow conditions, interactive maps, and riding-area information you already rely on. FutureSnow will bring an additional long-range perspective to help you look farther ahead.

What we will be Sharing This Winter

Throughout the season, we’ll share weather discussions, upcoming storm forecasts, projected snowfall, and insights into the evolving winter pattern with the RMSC community.

One last thing, for everyone who becomes a member, you get free SnowCconcierge service.  Just send us an email and tell us when and where you want to go and we will give you a detailed forecast up to 90 days in advance.

Over the last six years, hundreds of members have taken advantage of our free Snow Concierge service for trips all over the world. Japan, Iceland, Canada, Chile, Argentina and Europe.

Welcome to the blog! Every day of a storm cycle we publish multiple model runs and discuss the cycling pattern. Enjoy


Model Forecasts:   NBM (National Blend of Models)  All Snow, Composite Reflectivity, 500 mb, GFS Hemi, GFS All Snow (Click to Animate/enlarge)

 

Forecast

   

Forecast for Utah, San Juans and Divide/Summit  (we will dive into all of Colorado when the resorts are open but for now just a narrow look).

The developing storm looks increasingly promising for the mountains of Utah and Colorado, but there are important differences in when the snow begins, when the heaviest precipitation arrives, and how quickly temperatures become cold enough for accumulating snow.

The main takeaway is that Utah should see the first substantial snowfall, followed by the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado, with the central Colorado mountains seeing their best opportunity Sunday night through Tuesday.

Day-by-day storm timeline

FRI  The storm begins organizing

Alta/Snowbird: Mostly dry initially, with clouds increasing. A few showers are possible as Pacific moisture approaches. Wolf Creek/Telluride/Silverton: Moisture begins increasing on southwest flow, with scattered high-elevation showers possible.

SAT Warm part of the storm arrives

Alta/Snowbird: Light snow is possible at upper elevations, especially later in the day. 

Southern Colorado: Scattered rain and high-elevation snow showers. Snow levels may initially be relatively high.  A-Basin/Loveland and Summit County: Increasing clouds and southwest winds. A few snow showers are possible late.

SUN Main storm arrives in Utah

Alta/Snowbird: Snow develops and becomes heavier as the Pacific trough and moisture plume arrive. Snow levels lower with the approaching cold front.

Wolf Creek/Telluride/Silverton: Precipitation increases and snow accumulation becomes more substantial at higher elevations.  A-Basin/Loveland/Summit: Snow chances increase during the afternoon or evening, depending on the track of the upper low.  The track is still uncertain and I’ll have a better solution manana.

MON Peak snowfall day for multiple resorts as the S..t hits the fan!

Alta/Snowbird: Likely the heaviest part of the storm, particularly early Monday. Significant accumulation is possible.

Wolf Creek/Telluride/Silverton: Potentially the strongest snowfall period, with intense precipitation rates at higher elevations.

A-Basin/Loveland and Summit: Increasing snowfall as colder air and stronger lift spread into central Colorado. Snowfall amounts are more sensitive to the storm track.

TUE Snow tapers west to east

Alta/Snowbird: Snow showers decrease, with the main accumulation likely complete.

Wolf Creek/Telluride/Silverton: Lingering snow showers, gradually diminishing as the system moves away.

Arapahoe Basin Loveland and Summit: Additional snow possible early, particularly if the upper-level trough is slower or tracks farther north.

SWE Baseline before Incoming Storm

Teleconnection Status

Cycle Discussion

Above are the current state of the Teleconnections.  Below is the MJO and it appears like it is finally going to move out of neutral.

We are currently spending a lot of time analyzing the new cycling pattern.  It is always a stressful but exciting time as we confirm the new cycle length.  If you have the harmonic pattern down but not the correct cycle length, then you will be around 80% correct for forecasting.  Of course, if you have the correct cycle length your accuracy improves dramatically, as high as 95%.  

The MJO is projected to leave neutral on a few different model runs.  The MJO amplifies the pattern and also opens the door to the southern branch of the jet stream in non-Super El Nino years.  This year the southern jet stream is already cranking so if we move into a strong MJO it will be interesting to watch.

What is the Cycle Length?

Every year, we go through this exercise of watching storms come thru and try to understand how these storms fit into the new cycling pattern.  We look at wave patterns, such as the 500 mb charts looking for harmonics, until we get far enough along to actually see the return of storms.  
Transitions like last year, when we went from a 41-day pattern to a 76-day pattern are the hardest.  It’s simple, short patterns like the 41-day pattern only take 41 days to repeat.   76 days is an incredibly long period to wait, but we finally cracked the case in December. 
We use harmonics of the wave pattern to predict storms early on and we were perfect for the first couple sets of predictions last November and December. 
What is the Process?
First, we start from the bottom up and find the harmonic pattern.  This year it is about a 7-day pattern.  That tells us that the cycle length will be centered on a harmonic of the number 7.  Last year it was about a 6.5-day harmonic that ended up being 76 days and fluctuated between 74 and 78 days.
Next, we count all of the storms beginning in mid-July.  We track where they enter the CONUS and where they exit. We track everything, and after weeks of analysis we will begin to see the pattern. 
Once we know the cycle length, all of the data we recorded to date will project forward.  We will then know when and where the ridges will be.  We will know where the troughs will move through and when.  We will know when it will be cold and when it will be warm.   
What we don’t know is how the teleconnections will influence the pattern.  Teleconnections are things like El Nino, the Arctic Oscillation, the Madden Julian Oscillation, the polar vortex and the Pacific North American pattern.  We will have to wait for those influences to “wake up”, as it is still early.  The polar vortex is just beginning to get going so it won’t be long until the others get cranking.  
Welcome Newcomers, First Tracks with FutureSnow?

If you are new to FutureSnow and the cycling pattern, we will catch you up to speed.   Click on the link and we will explain the terminology you will be reading on our blog, along with our methodology using the Cycling Weather Pattern.  Thanks for joining our Team!

 

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