Mild fall weather takes a break along the Front Range zone for the weekend. Increased winds and a possibility of a little new snow may build some shallow slab on lee aspects to west and swouthwest winds next couple days. Many of the upper-elevation areas have been snowcovered for over a month. Reports from the backcountry describe a mix of loose facets or hard wind slabs in the upper snowpack covering weak facets over an ice layer near the bottom. Just to make things more interesting, you might find a layer of surface hoar under the upper slab.

Although this is not a great setup if you want a stable snowpack, we haven't had a big loading event in over a week. This means that you are unlikely to trigger an avalanche unless you are on a very steep slope with hard snow in the upper portion of the snowpack. Safe backcountry travel is possible in many areas, but you'll need to evaluate steep upper-elevation slopes before you commit. Be especially careful on slopes that face northwest, north, northeast, and east.

The next low-pressure system has moved into the Great Basin and we can expect to see some increasing clouds Saturday. Initially these look to be some nice looking lenticular clouds. Winds  over the higher terrain increased into the 20 to 30 mph range across the northern and central zones, especially closer to the Continental Divide, Friday night. This first low-pressure trough will pass through Colorado on Saturday. Looks like mostly clouds over the Central Mountains with scattered snow showers in the Northern Mountains.There is a slight break before a second low-pressure system moves in on Sunday/Sunday afternoon. This is a slightly stronger system, but most of the weather will remain in the northern half of the state. By Monday we will be on the eastern side of a high pressure ridge over the Great Basin with NW winds over Colorado. and that should keep the weather a little unsettled.