Nice weather for the most of the work week with a small storm Wednesday
Sunday, October 3, 2021
Temperatures around sixty degrees and bluebird skies are over the Steamboat Springs area this Sunday noon. We have a couple of gorgeous fall days coming up today, tomorrow, and most of Tuesday before a small storm grazes our area for an unsettled Wednesday. The weather looks to turn nice again for Thursday and possibly Friday before we may see some effects from a large and complex storm as soon as the weekend.
Currently, there is an eddy of low pressure off the West Coast, a large storm in the Gulf of Alaska and a ridge of high pressure over the West, with the exception of a small and dry eddy over southwest Utah that will not affect our weather. Expect warm and dry days with little wind thru Tuesday, with high temperatures near 70 F today and likely above that for Monday and Tuesday, which will be five to ten degrees above our average of 64 F.
Early in the work week, the Gulf of Alaska storm is forecast to move eastward, with the southwest flow ahead of the storm forcing that eddy off the West Coast inland. There may be some clouds moving overhead later Tuesday ahead of the small storm, with the weather turning cooler and unsettled for Wednesday with likely showers and breezy southwest winds.
Coincidentally, the Gulf of Alaska storm is forecast to make landfall along the Pacific Northwest coast and elongate to the southwest along the West Coast, with additional waves of energy and cold air keeping the large storm active through and likely past the weekend. Ahead of that storm, the atmosphere dries out and temperatures rise again for Thursday and Friday in the breezy southwesterly flow. Expect lots of sun on Thursday and increasing clouds on Friday with possibly showers late in the day depending upon the evolution of the storm.
Be sure to get out and enjoy the fall colors this week, the earlier the better, as the increasing breezes starting Wednesday will accelerate the end of what has turned out to be a spectacular color show. And stay tuned to my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Thursday afternoon where the evolution of that Gulf of Alaska storm will be discussed and whether it may lead to a period of active weather starting as soon as the weekend.
