The National Weather Service Forecasts-

TODAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY. AREAS OF FOG WITH VISIBILITY REDUCED TO 1 MILE OR LESS AT TIMES IN THE MORNING...THEN PATCHY FOG IN THE
AFTERNOON. ISOLATED SNOW SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGHS AROUND 33. LIGHT WINDS BECOMING SOUTHEAST 10 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON.

TONIGHT...SCATTERED SNOW AND RAIN SHOWERS IN THE EVENING...THEN SNOW LATE. SNOW ACCUMULATION AROUND 2 INCHES. LOWS AROUND 32. SOUTHEAST WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.

SUNDAY...SNOW AND RAIN. SNOW ACCUMULATION 1 TO 3 INCHES. SNOW
LEVEL RISING TO 700 FEET IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGHS AROUND 35.
SOUTHEAST WIND 10 MPH.

Temperatures have cooled off by 5c over the last 48 hours. Where things were right at the 0 mark for the last week at our Mt Roberts Tram Summit they have now fallen to -4c.

This time spent at near freezing temps helped the snowpack in rapid settlement rates which increased the snowpack strength.

With the cooler temperatures in place the snowpack will start to solidify more throughout.

We saw some 20mph winds yesterday and the day before but in the last 12 hours winds have only been blowing 5-10 mph.

We only saw about 4mm of precip in the last 24 hours and a total of just under 12mm for 48 hours. This is a low precip rates which is also good giving the snow on the ground time to adjust to its load.

With precip volumes forecast to be quite low during the day today avalanche danger is LOW at this time. Watch tonight into tomorrow as new snow starts to pile up this may start to build new instabilities in the snowpack.

Be safe out there and have a great day.

Avalanches are the leading natural hazard killer in America annually... more so than earthquakes, fires, or any other hazard.

Two deaths in the span of a week in Colorado?s mountains serve as stark reminders of the dangers that lurk within the tempting powder in the backcountry.

In Colorado, you?re more likely to be killed in an avalanche than any other natural hazard.

Anthony ?Tony? Siebert, 24, the grandson of Vail Resort founder Peter Seibert Sr., died in the backcountry just outside the boundaries of Vail Mountain on Tuesday. Siebert and three others were caught in a large avalanche near treeline in the area known as the East Vail Chutes, a steep and avalanche-prone bowl that has seen eight avalanche deaths since 1986.

The three skiers and snowboarders with Siebert were temporarily buried by the avalanche, but were rescued and treated for minor injuries.

On New Year?s Eve, Fraser resident George Dirth 28, was snowboarding in the backcountry on Parkview Mountain in the Rabbit Ears Range when he was caught in an avalanche that was about 150 feet wide and ran 500 vertical feet.

?Both of these events are tragic, and in the case at Vail, it?s safe to say that the other three members of the party got very lucky,? said Ethan Greene, director of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. ?Avalanches are a very powerful event, and in the ones we?ve seen in the last week, they?ve gotten bigger and they are pretty much unsurvivable.?

On average, Colorado sees seven deaths caused by avalanche annually, according to the CAIC, the most in the country. Eleven people were killed by avalanches in Colorado during the 2012-13 season, and 61 have been killed in Colorado since 2003-04, including the first two fatalities this season.

Lightning is the No. 2 natural hazard killer in the state, with 24 fatalities since 2003, according to the National Weather Service. The Big Thompson Flood of 1976 killed 144 people, but floods happen infrequently in the state. Nine were killed in September?s historic flooding.

Consistent killer

No natural hazard is as consistent in Colorado as avalanches. The CAIC reported several large naturally-occurring avalanches around the state in the last two weeks. The large slab avalanches that killed Siebert and Dirth usually aren?t seen until later in the ski season, Greene said.