Unsettled and cool for the week ahead
Monday, August 7, 2017
A ridge of high pressure over British Columbia, a large trough of low pressure over the eastern two thirds of North America and a small, diffuse trough of low pressure located off the northern California coast will influence our weather this week.
A number of cool fronts will pass through the Steamboat Springs area this work week courtesy of the generally northwest flow between the ridge to our west and the trough to our east. Additionally, upper level energy and moisture will periodically eject across the Great Basin from the diffuse low off the northern California coast, creating an active weather regime for Steamboat Springs this work week.
The exact timing of the cool fronts from the north and energy from the west are difficult to forecast due to their subtle nature. Generally active weather with cooler than average temperatures are expected this week as the weather pattern is fairly constant, with breaks between the periods of active weather.
By the end of the work week, a powerful storm that was spinning in the Gulf of Alaska begins to move toward the Pacific Northwest coast. This storm will not only kick the nearly stationary northern California low well to our northwest, but will also force the Pacific Northwest ridge eastward.
There will be a brief battle between another surge of cooler to our north and the building ridge of high pressure around Friday, with current model solutions bringing warming and some drying to northern Colorado by the weekend as the ridge eventually wins the battle. Though the weather will dry considerably, there will still be a chance of afternoon storms for the weekend as residual moisture is heated and lifted.
There is considerable uncertainty with regards to the Gulf of Alaska storm and how it may affect our weather for the following work week.
