Nowcast - The warm before the storm and a Happy New Year! Clouds drift in from the southwest, temperatures hover near freezing °F, and winds blowing from the south register in the 20-25 mph range near the high peaks. Yup... storminess is on the doorstep.

Forecast - A warm, moist system slips into the Uinta zone for New Years Day, delivering a shallow, but welcome, upper elevation reset for the eastern front. Look for snow developing by about mid morning, but it could be more wet than white at the trailheads as rain/snow levels fluctuate during the day. Winds blowing from the south and southwest bump into the 30's near the peaks with temperatures climbing into the mid 30's °F. Despite the tropical nature of todays storm, I think we stack up 4 inches of dense, heavy snow by dinnertime.

Futurecast - Colder air filters into the region late tonight into Friday morning and that'll usher in a nice shot of snow... I bet an additional 6 inches of low density snow just in time for the morning trailhead commute. Winds veer to the northwest and more winter-like temperatures in the upper 20's are on tap . Storm totals in the 10-12 inch range with just over an inch of H20 seems reasonable to wrap up the workweek. A break in the action for Saturday with more storms in the queue to kick off the first full week of 2026.

Travel Conditions - Snow depths range from 2-4 feet across the range and the Uinta's are getting whiter. The Christmas Eve raincrust is keeping you off the ground, delivering a mostly supportable base. Solar slopes have taken on heat, but mid and upper elevation polars are still cold and firing. Four-wheeled vehicle access to Mirror Lake Highway (HW150) is shut down, while SR-35 (Wolf Creek Pass) remains open.

New Years Eve was stunning. Brilliant sunshine, hardly a breath of wind, and yeah... a shallow cream topper on a turn anywhere kinda base :)