After warm temperatures, terrain closures, Vail, Beaver Creek brace for another blast of winter

After an above-average snow season and some very warm temperatures this week, yet another blast of winter is heading into the Vail area for the weekend.

“Thursday will be warm, cloudy, and windy, then a storm will bring snow from Thursday night to Saturday morning,” meteorologist Joel Gratz of Opensnow.com wrote Thursday morning.

“The latest forecasts show more snow than we previously expected with 4-8 inches for many spots and 10+ inches for a few spots,” Gratz added. “The best powder could be on Saturday morning. After this system, we’ll see warm and sunny weather on Sunday, then maybe a storm the following week.”

Sunday (April 16) marks closing day for Beaver Creek, which currently stands at 322 inches of snow for the season with a 67-inch settled base. Vail, which is scheduled to close the following weekend on Sunday, April 23, has seen 337 inches of snow for the season and has a settled base of 70 inches.

However, on Wednesday and Thursday (April 12-13), the Back Bowls at Vail were closed due to rapid melting and the danger of wet slides, according to the Vail Daily. Blue Sky Basin closed for the season last weekend.