Increasing moisture and decreasing temperatures after midweek
Monday, September 11, 2017
Lots to contend with this week, with now tropical storm Irma affecting the eastern third of the country, hurricane Jose spinning near Bermuda and possibly threatening the East Coast early next week, and, closer to home, a closed low pressure area off the California coast and a Pacific Northwest storm that will affect our weather starting around midweek.
There will be a chance of showers this afternoon and early evening as some moisture lingers over the Steamboat Springs area in continued above average temperatures. Tuesday will be as warm, but drier, before a strong storm in the Gulf of Alaska approaches the Pacific Northwest coast early Wednesday.
Seasonally building cold air in western Canada is forecast to mix with the storm, increasing its southern extent enough to incorporate the California low around midweek. Chances for showers increase again by Wednesday afternoon as energy and moisture from the storm complex moves toward the Great Basin and begins to affect our area.
Cooling temperatures and a much better chance of wetting rains for later Thursday and early Friday are likely as the old California low passes near or perhaps over northern Colorado. There is model disagreement with respect to the southern extent of this leading wave and how quickly a reinforcing wave of cold air moves over the area, but right now it looks like some drying for later Friday before we see another round of cooler and showery weather for the first half of the weekend.
Of note is the European ECMWF is much cooler with the reinforcing wave of cold air than the American GFS, possibly bringing some snowflakes to the upper elevations of Mt. Werner sometime this weekend if that model verifies.
Drier air and warming temperatures in southwest flow is advertised for later Sunday and the beginning of the next work week as the storm moves northeast of our area and another Gulf of Alaska storm approaches the Pacific Northwest coast.
