Dry and pleasant weather through the upcoming week
Monday, November 4, 2019
After a cool front grazed Steamboat Springs this Monday morning and brought some clouds, the sun has returned with a 2:30 pm temperature of 46 F, only two degrees below our average. Other than another grazing cool front for late Wednesday or early Thursday, seasonably warm temperatures around five to as much as ten degrees above average are expected through Saturday, after which some light precipitation may return to our area for the end of the weekend.
A ridge of high pressure over the West Coast has directed the unseasonably cold air from last week into the upper Midwest and Northeast, allowing for warming temperatures and light northwesterly winds over our area. This pattern will be persistent through this week and likely the next week as well, mostly deflecting the waves of Pacific energy and moisture riding over the top of the ridge to our east.
A couple of waves will drag cool fronts near north-central Colorado for Thursday and Sunday, cooling temperatures back several degrees below average. While the Thursday wave looks dry, there is a good chance of some light snow showers for Sunday into Monday. Otherwise, expect lots of sun and very pleasant weather, with high temperatures around five to almost ten degrees above average.
This pattern looks to persist into at least the middle of the following week, though long-range weather forecast models do indicate a strengthening Pacific jet stream that will eventually carry storms closer to our area as that workweek progresses.