Cool front Tuesday followed by COLD front Wednesday
Monday, May 15, 2017
I may have spoken too soon on May Day when I thought Steamboat Springs would see the last snowflakes of the season. A couple of storms, one currently located in Nevada and another much colder winter-like storm located off the British Columbia coast, will affect our area into the weekend.
The first storm will be pushed eastward across the Great Basin by the second storm, and after a breezy afternoon today, we may see some showers this evening as energy is ejected out ahead of the storm.
Temperatures will be seasonably cool tomorrow behind the cool front with showers possible later in the day as the first storm swings south of our area and moves east of Colorado tomorrow evening. However temperatures will have much further to fall on Wednesday as the second storm crosses the Pacific Northwest coast early tomorrow and travels southeastward across the Great Basin.
Current timing has the strong cold front from the second storm sweeping across Colorado sometime on Wednesday. Though there may be clearing ahead of the front, don’t be fooled as there may be a period of heavy but brief precipitation with the front along with unseasonably cold temperatures.
Precipitation will be showery behind the front, with snow down to the valley floor, especially overnight, though warm road surfaces should limit any accumulations to the grassy surfaces.
Though there are model differences with respect to the southern extent of the storm, there should be a time when precipitation, likely in the form of snow, turns more persistent on Thursday as cold, moist and unstable northwest flow occurs on the backside of the slowly moving storm.
Though temperatures will warm from the coldest part of the storm, still unseasonably cool temperatures with showers are forecast for Friday as trailing energy behind the departing storm keeps moist and unstable conditions around.
Temperatures will warm through the weekend from seasonably cool to perhaps average by Sunday, but there will still be a chance of showers on Saturday and a better chance on Sunday and heading into the new work week as additional energy from the northwest moves over the area.
