Chance for showers returns mid-weekend
Thursday, September 16, 2021
Temperatures in the upper seventies along with mostly sunny skies and breezy winds are over the Steamboat Springs area this Thursday mid-afternoon. Similar weather is forecast for Friday and most of Saturday, with sunnier skies, before some moisture is forecast to move overhead on Saturday night and Sunday and increase the chance for showers, followed by a dramatic cool-down on Monday.
A mostly dry storm currently moving across the northern Rockies is responsible for our increased winds and patchy clouds this afternoon. A cool front will graze Colorado tonight with most of the cold air confined to the Front Range, so expect a bit less wind on Friday along with more sun and similar temperatures in the mid to upper seventies, which is above our average high temperature of 71 F.
Saturday starts in a similar fashion, but an area of low pressure currently off the coast of southern California will be forced eastward ahead of a potent storm forecast to develop in the Gulf of Alaska through the weekend. Southerly flow ahead of that northeastward-moving area of low pressure will bring moisture from the south over our area starting later Saturday, so look for an increase in clouds with the chance of light showers developing. These chances should continue overnight and into Sunday morning when the area of low pressure is forecast to pass overhead.
Coincidentally, the unseasonably cold Gulf of Alaska storm is forecast to cross the Pacific Northwest coast Sunday morning and move through the Great Basin overnight. There may enough moisture left behind the departing low pressure disturbance and ahead of the incoming storm for some clouds, slightly cooler temperatures and a small chance of afternoon showers for the rest of Sunday.
Weather forecast models have struggled with the intensity, speed and moisture content of the incoming storm, with even snowflakes earlier forecast down to the Yampa Valley floor, but models have backed off that solution and right now several mostly dry surges of cold air look to pass through our area between Sunday and Monday nights.
Be sure to check back for my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Sunday afternoon where I’ll be discussing the incoming storm and how cold the beginning of the work week may be.
