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This article is from the Denver Post, April 22, 2011, reported by Tom McGhee.
Breckenridge resort broke a seasonal snowfall record Thursday, while Vail has broken a 10-year mark and will probably reach an unofficial all-time high before the week is out.
As of Thursday afternoon, 502 inches of snow had fallen on Vail Mountain this season, making it the best snow year in at least 10 years and maybe longer.
By the time the resort closes Sunday, the total could blow away a record set higher up the mountain, where the resort measured snow during its first 39 years — 505 inches during the 1977-78 season.
With more snow expected overnight, Vail skiers could find another 3 inches this morning. There is a chance of snow showers today and again Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
The resort's previous record set mid-mountain was 458 inches during the 2007-08 ski season.
The snowfall record at Breckenridge crumbled Thursday morning, when the resort reported 507 inches, with more snow expected through the weekend.
The previous record at Breckenridge was 504 inches in 1995-96, said Amy Kemp, a spokeswoman for Vail Resorts, which owns and operates Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone.
The snow that has buried Colorado's mountains this year is the result of a La Niña weather pattern, said Matthew Aleksa, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction.
Snowpacks are near or above average in all but the Upper Rio Grande Basin, which was at 78 percent of average, and the combined San Juan, Animas, Dolores and San Miguel basins, at 89 percent of average.
Barry Smith, emergency-management director for Eagle County, said flooding is always a possibility when warm weather arrives.
"We will be monitoring stream flows like we always do and be prepared to deal with any issues that come up," he said.
Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com
