Some snow tonight and Monday followed by a dry work week
Sunday, March 1, 2020
Steamboat Springs saw a high temperature of 39 F just after this Sunday noon, which is two degrees above our average for the day, before a shower moved through and dropped around an inch of snow on top of Mt. Werner. Intermittent snow showers will continue tonight and Monday as a storm splits around our area before the weather dries for the work week. Much warmer temperatures are expected for Friday and likely part of the weekend before precipitation chances return.
Currently, the southern part of a Pacific storm that split yesterday is spinning off the California coast while the northern part is racing eastward across the southern Canadian Plains. Our area usually does not fare too well from these types of storms as we are left between the active weather to our north and south.
Nevertheless, a diffuse cool front is forecast to move through our area around midnight, and we may see up to several inches of snow by the Monday morning report, along with another inch or two possible during the day as intermittent showers occur behind the front.
We should see periods of sun and clouds through the most of the rest of the work week as a couple of fairly dry Pacific storms pass to our north.
Meanwhile, a strong storm develops in the Gulf of Alaska by midweek as a Pacific storm mixes with some cold Siberian air. The storm is forecast to move southward along the West coast and force a ridge of high pressure over the Rocky Mountains on Friday for a noticeably warm and sunny spring-feeling day.
The West Coast storm is kept moving by another incoming Pacific storm, with the West Coast storm forecast to weaken considerably as it moves inland and battles the Rocky Mountain ridge of high pressure over the weekend. There is disagreement among the weather forecast models on when what is left of the West Coast storm passes through our area, and whether the storm is able to incorporate any subtropical moisture, but there are increasing chances for precipitation by mid-weekend with better chances by the end of the weekend.
