Slight chance of precipitation mid-weekend with a better chance midweek
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Another seasonably warm and sunny day is gracing the Steamboat Springs area this Thursday afternoon, with the current temperature of 49 F seven degrees above our average of 42 F. Similar weather is expected for the upcoming week, briefly interrupted later Saturday with a slight chance of precipitation. However chances for precipitation become much greater starting midweek.
The ridge of high pressure that has taken up residence over the West Coast these past two weeks is finally on the move, thanks to an incoming Pacific storm system that strengthened in the Gulf of Alaska. We’ll see another warm and mostly sunny day on Friday before clouds increase for Saturday ahead of the storm that is forecast to pass over our area during the day.
As alluded to in last Sunday’s weather narrative, the storm will split with some energy dropping into the Baja area and the bulk of the storm traveling across the northern Rockies and grazing us on Saturday. The best chance of snow showers will be during the day Saturday at the higher elevations when the cold front passes, with meager accumulations around an inch at best. There may be raindrops in town, though the cool air behind the front should turn any liquid into snowflakes by later in the day along with breezy northwest winds.
The sun will return for Sunday, though we may see some increasing clouds later in the day as a weak impulse in the northwest flow passes by.
After a chilly start to Monday morning, more sunny skies and a warming airmass should allow temperatures to once again reach around five to ten degrees above average which will persist through most of Tuesday.
Meanwhile, another Pacific storm drops southward along the West Coast by midweek and forces the loitering storm around Baja northeastward and toward or over our area around midweek. Weather forecast models always struggle with identifying the track and strength of these interacting storms, especially when they are cut off from the main jet stream, but currently it looks like a good chance of warm precipitation around midweek or soon after, followed by a better chance for snow around the end of the work week as the stronger and colder upstream storm is forecast to move near or over our area.
