Midweek break in snowfall timed for Wednesday
Monday, November 28, 2016
Energy spinning around a closed low in the Dakotas will combine with a shortwave to our west in northwest flow to bring periods of snow and reinforcing surges of cold air to the Steamboat Springs area through tomorrow. Short range models have snows intensifying for a time later this evening and again soon after sunrise as a couple of waves move through. I still expect 3-6” to be reported Tuesday morning.
Snows will become more showery through a cold day and night before finally ending by Wednesday morning. Though accumulating snows end with 1-4” expected for a cold Wednesday morning report, there may be isolated showers on Wednesday as Colorado will be caught between energy to our northwest and the low to our northeast which eventually is forecast to be over the Great Lakes on Wednesday.
Another wave in northwest flow crosses the Pacific Northwest coast Wednesday and could affect our weather on Thursday and Friday as it travels across the Great Basin. Though models agree that this wave will elongate to the south when combined with additional upstream energy, there is disagreement with respect to how much energy is diverted southward and the eventual track of that energy.
For the Steamboat Springs area, light snow showers could get going again on Thursday if the Pacific Northwest energy is in our proximity. Showers could persist overnight and through the day Friday with light accumulations if the more favorable solution verifies, otherwise showers will be less numerous or even non-existent.
Colorado is forecast to be on the southern edge of the jet stream through the weekend, with some clouds persisting on Saturday and a chance of light showers on Sunday before another Pacific Northwest storm approaches our area early in the next work week.
