Meteorologist Reveals Dramatic Snowfall Gap Between Vermont and Colorado

Over the weekend, a storm passed through much of the U.S., dumping snow on states from Colorado to Vermont.

It was, of course, welcome news for skiers, who took to the streets and also rode the chairlifts at their favorite resorts. But in the aftermath of the storm, the divide between the East and the West—in terms of snowfall—couldn’t be clearer.

Chris Bianchi, a meteorologist for 9News, shared a diagram that showed totals at Colorado ski resorts, and then compared them to those in Vermont.

The gap is sizable.

The 2026 POWDER Photo Annual is here! Look for a print copy on a newsstand near you, or click here to have a copy shipped directly to your front door.

Bianchi published the post just after Jay Peak made an announcement: the resort had surpassed 300 inches of snowfall, and was pacing ahead of the winter of 2000 and 2001, when 581 inches of snow piled up.

“It’s an all-time winter, and this will go down as one of the keystone days of this gloriously deep season,” Jay Peak wrote in its Monday morning snow report (at the time of writing this, Jay Peak’s snowfall total has climbed to 309 inches, according to its snow report). 

The resort’s season—alongside others in Vermont—has been nothing short of memorable. You could say the same about Colorado, too, but for skiers, it isn’t for the right reasons.

In the chart Bianchi shared, Winter Park was about 200 inches behind Jay Peak. So was Wolf Creek, the self-proclaimed snowiest ski resort in Colorado that, on average, tallies 430 inches of snow. The mountain, of course, is still a long way away from reaching that number.

That’s regularly dashed hopes for local skiers hoping for powder turns, even as a few bright spots, like this past weekend, have delivered good skiing conditions to Colorado. It’s also caused concern among water specialists.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Drought Monitor noted that the snow drought across the West was “most severe” in Colorado, among other states, like Washington and Oregon. Many states, including Colorado, recorded their warmest December on record, the agency noted.

Challenges beyond skiing, then, may loom as summer arrives. The snowpack, as it melts, plays a vital role in replenishing rivers and aquifers that supply millions during the spring. 

There are glimmers of hope. Chris Tomer, a meteorologist popular among skiers, recently pointed out that ski resorts in the northern stretch of Colorado could see a few inches through February 3—a follow-up to the recent wintry cycle. 

But the state will need a lot of accumulation to return to a normal snowpack before the season ends. 

And in an odd turn of events, there's a chance Westerns skiers are wondering about booking a trip to the East. Usually, it’s the other way around.