Light snow chances Saturday and early next week

Thursday, March 8, 2018

Ahead of a small storm for Saturday, the Steamboat Springs area will see warm and mostly sunny weather for today and Friday, though there may be some clouds ahead of the storm by Friday afternoon.

That storm is currently affecting the Pacific Northwest, and looks to bring cooling temperatures and snow showers to our area early on Saturday. There may be an inch by the Saturday morning report, but the strongest part of this weak storm is forecast to occur mid-morning, with another several inches possible, before skies clear behind the departing storm later in the day.

Sunday will start chilly, but plenty of sun and warming temperatures should make for a beautiful day.

Meanwhile, a large, cold and very impressive storm forms between Hawaii and the West Coast early in the work week. This storm will kick some loitering energy and moisture in that area eastward, leading to the possibility of showers for our area later Monday and part of Tuesday. The southwest flow ahead of the large storm will keep the warm temperatures around, so any precipitation that falls will be liquid below about mid-mountain.

Quickly following for midweek will be energy and moisture ejecting out of the large and slowly-moving-eastward West Coast storm. The exact timing will likely change in future forecasts, but right now, low elevation rain and high elevation snow showers are expected for later Wednesday and Thursday.

The evolution of the West Coast storm is hotly debated by the weather forecast models, and it is not clear if the storm will move inland mostly intact or in pieces. However, both the European ECMWF and the American GFS have additional upstream energy moving in behind the storm, indicating the possibility of a week of stormy weather starting near the end of the work week.

Save your soles! If you do any walking in your ski boots on hard surfaces, then you know the grating and grinding sounds you hear can’t be good. In fact, worn boot soles make your binding unsafe as it interferes with the boot-binding interface. Cat Tracks are a flexible protector that keeps your boot soles pristine, and adds a cushion for walking comfort. When it’s time to click into bindings, I take them off and stash them in my coat pocket. Yaktrax are similar, but I have not used them since they appear they would take up a bit more space in my jacket pocket. But you get a rocker sole that promotes a natural stride which may be worth the space sacrifice. If I did not have to carry them around all day, these would be my choice.