And a look at weather trends

There’s no doubt it has been cold in Crested Butte. The average low temperature between December 5 and 8 was below zero. But clearly it hasn’t been too cold to snow.

State climatologist Nolan Doesken says that as the temperature drops, the atmosphere loses its ability to hold moisture. So if it is extremely cold throughout the atmosphere and there’s just a moderate amount of moisture, precipitation isn’t likely.
But the cold air, coupled with moisture-laden air coming in from the Pacific Ocean via the Mountains of California, and even the coldest temperatures can’t stop the snow.
The correlation between temperature and snowfall held true in Crested Butte last week, however.  The day it dumped 13 inches, the low temperature was 10 degrees higher than the lows of the day before or after.
“This is a ‘beauty,’ the kind of dump that southwestern Colorado has come to count on,” Doesken says of the storm that hit the Gunnison Valley on Monday, December 7. “It’s a storm that is blown in from the Sierras and comes across northern Arizona and Utah. This is the kind of storm that is classic part of the early winter season in the southwestern portion of Colorado.”
But he can’t guarantee similar storms will keep coming. It depends on the storm track El Niño sends to the Gunnison Valley.
And Doesken says when the snow does come, there is no reason it shouldn’t fall on Crested Butte Mountain, which some people claim falls victim to the “doughnut hole effect,” which can keep moisture out of very specific areas.
“I know that [the doughnut hole effect] applies for the Gunnison Valley,” Doesken says. “With all of the mountain ranges around and especially to the west, there is a local dry spot in middle of valley. But by the time you get to Crested Butte you’re out of it.”
And that is a good thing for this ski resort…