Quick-hitting storm on Friday to precede a pleasant weekend
Thursday, May 2, 2024
Filtered sunshine, cool breezes and temperatures in the mid-forties are over the Steamboat Springs area this Thursday mid-afternoon. Another cool and quick-hitting storm will bring some precipitation to our area on Friday afternoon ahead of warming temperatures and clearing skies to start the weekend. But a much stronger and longer-lasting wintry storm to start the work week will bring increasing clouds and breezes on a still-warm Sunday.
Contrary to the storm on Monday night that brought 3.5” of snow to mid-mountain and some brief accumulations on the grassy surfaces in town by Tuesday morning, the storm last night only produced a few snowflakes. But cool air behind the storm has kept temperatures in the mid-forties today, almost fifteen degrees below our average of sixty degrees.
A similarly cool day is forecast for Friday as a quick-hitting storm brings a cold front through our area around noon on Friday. The storm may bring some light rain showers to town through Friday afternoon and 1-4” of snow at the now-closed Steamboat Resort, with rapid clearing by Friday evening behind the storm.
Meanwhile, a strong and cold storm currently moving through the Gulf of Alaska is forecast to move through Oregon by Saturday night and the Great Basin on Sunday. A ridge of high pressure ahead of the storm will pass over the Rockies this weekend, and after a cool start to Saturday morning, high temperatures are forecast to rise into the mid-sixties for a rare pleasant weekend in this active spring weather pattern.
By Sunday, clouds and winds from the southwest are forecast to increase ahead of the approaching wintry storm, even as high temperatures stay similar to Saturday. Enjoy this break in the weather as the cold front associated with the storm is currently timed for Sunday night. And yes, that means we may wake up to snowflakes in town again on Monday morning.
Right now, the storm looks to hang around through Tuesday, but be sure to check back to my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Sunday afternoon where I’ll have more details on the next wintry blast to start the work week.
