Tardy storm on our doorstep
Sunday, March 4, 2018
Hard to believe that even the short-range weather models can’t get the timing right eighteen hours in advance, but the advertised cold front looks to finally pass through the Steamboat Springs area soon after noon today. As was the case with the storm update last night, snowfall will be shifted towards tonight and even tomorrow morning, so I now expect 2-4” before sunset and 3-6” overnight.
And with snowfall likely occurring around the Monday morning ski report, we may see some Steamboat Magic where accumulations occur between report time and ski time, with another 1-4” of snow possible before noon on Monday along with seasonably cold wintertime temperatures.
Light snow showers will hang on at the higher elevations for the rest of Monday, with a trailing wave of energy briefly increasing the showers Monday night and possibly leaving another 1-4” for the Tuesday morning report in continued cold temperatures.
Dry air bringing sunny skies and much warmer temperatures is advertised for Wednesday and Thursday before incoming Pacific energy picks up pieces of a storm spinning between Hawaii and California and moves them eastward, eventually grazing northern Colorado on Friday and Saturday.
The storm will be weak and disorganized, with the best chance of accumulating snow showers along the northern border of Colorado. Right now, weather models show that we may see some snow showers on the hill from Friday afternoon through Saturday morning.
Warming and drying should follow for the end of the weekend and the beginning of the work week before another storm approaches the West Coast. There may be some energy ejecting out ahead of the storm around the following Tuesday or Wednesday, leading to unsettled weather, though the main part of the storm may not begin moving westward until later in the work week.
Don’t let the cold weather on Monday and Tuesday shorten your ski day. My new favorite cold-weather glove are all about warmth. And when combined with the standard HotHands handwamers which I use below about 5F, I’m good for the day. Three fingers sit together with the index finger separated, but there is enough room to scrunch all your fingers together while on the lift, which is especially nice if you have a handwarmer in the mitten-part of the glove.