Fall returns after the wintry day today
Thursday, October 10, 2019
A solid six inches of snow was on my deck by this Thursday mid-morning after the snowfall started by 10 pm Wednesday night. For those counting, that’s a mere 3.5 months after our last snowfall observed in Steamboat Springs on June 23. And even though we will see plenty of sun on Friday, the frigid start to the day will make temperature recovery slow, with average temperatures not expected to return until Sunday afternoon. But gorgeous fall weather is expected for the next work week, with a more seasonable storm possible the following weekend.
Temperatures today are struggling to get above our average low temperature of 28 F as non-accumulating snow showers continue, which is over thirty degrees below our average high of 61 F and over forty degrees below yesterday’s high of 71 F! 
I’ve included a screenshot of these data that is available on SnowAlarm’s Home Page under Local Temperatures, Winds & Precipitation. Note that I also have timeseries for Rabbit Ears Pass, Berthoud Pass, Walton Peak, Hayden, Denver and some other places people have requested. These observations are not taken everywhere, so if you want a station to appear here, please email me and I will try and add it for you.
For tonight a trailing surge of cold air will drop low temperatures towards 0 F, with below zero likely in the low-lying areas around the Yampa River, as light snow showers continue.
Temperatures will be slow to recover on Friday with such a cold start to the day, even with sunny skies behind the departing storm, as the sun’s energy will have to melt the snow on the ground before warming the surface. Expect high temperatures around 40 F, give or take several degrees.
The clear Friday night will once again allow low temperatures to plummet Saturday morning, perhaps not as cold as Friday morning, but likely in the single digits. Again, the cold start will limit the eventual afternoon high temperature, but less snow on the ground and a warmer start to the day should allow temperatures to rise to the fifties.
The continued clear Saturday night will keep low temperatures five to ten degrees below average, but high temperatures should rise toward average by Sunday and continue through the work week, with perhaps next Tuesday being a bit cooler as a storm passes to the north of our area.
An incoming Pacific storm is forecast to cross the Pacific Northwest coast around midweek, and this may move across our area the following weekend as it mixes with some cold western Canadian air. Weather forecast models roughly agree the storm could be cold enough for another round of snow, though details and timing will undoubtedly change by my next weather narrative on Sunday.
