UPDATE: Joel (see below) just returned from skiing this afternoon and told SnoCountry.com: "Colorado is seeing a classic upslope snow storm, with winds and moisture coming from the east. The two resorts that benefit that most from this type of storm are Echo Mountain and Eldora, where they've picked up between two to three feet of snow, and it's still snowing."

It was all over the news this morning (Feb. 3). A “monster snow storm is dumping what could be as much as two-feet on Denver.” But, what about our ski and ride slopes?

Well-known Colorado-based meteorologist Joel Gratz, who produces OpenSnow.com, offers up both great and “ah, almost” news for powder hounds. Here are snippets from his Daily Colorado Snow report today.

Big snow totals as of Friday morning Mountain Time have been reported from the Rockies front range to the eastern foothills. Gratz calls it at 12 inches in Boulder and 10 inches in Eldora, where “it’s still dumping.” Hills at 8-9,000 feet west of Boulder have picked up 24 inches in the past 24 hours. Gratz predicts another 6-12 inches could fall in the area before moving on tonight.

The San Juan Mountains – home to resorts such as Durango Mountain Resort, Silverton, and Telluride – benefitted from 8-12 inches yesterday and last night.

The heavy snow silver lining, says Gratz, “unfortunately didn’t make it up to and over the divide to A-Basin, Loveland and Winter Park. Only about a couple of inches made it.

Gratz’s report does not foresee any significant storm ahead in the next five days. He does hint that it might get snowier for Northern Colorado by the middle of February.

Meanwhile, the Colorado Department of Transportation warns, "Roads across the entire Front Range, southwest Colorado and the central mountains are icy and snowpacked, and high winds are making travel and snow removal difficult." 

Heading to the hills (or out of them) via Denver International Airport today? Check first. More than 200 flights were canceled last night and this morning at DIA because of the storm. Airport operations will continue to be impacted throughout today and delays or more cancellations should be expected. Travelers should check FlyDenver website http://flydenver.com for details.

Photo: Massive Colorado snowstorm, courtesy NOAA