Good precipitation chances to persist into Tuesday
Sunday, June 30, 2024
Temperatures are around eighty degrees in Steamboat Springs under mostly sunny skies this Sunday mid-afternoon. But clouds are building ahead of good precipitation chances from this afternoon through Monday and into Tuesday morning thanks to an approaching cool front interacting with increasing moisture. Cooler temperatures in the seventies and dry weather behind the cool front will bring very pleasant summertime weather through the Independence Day holiday.
A trough of low pressure is currently crossing the West Coast while a subtropical ridge of high pressure centered over the lower Mississippi Valley extends westward across Texas. The atmosphere is having a tough time letting go of the wintertime pattern of storms approaching our area from the northwest even as the summertime pattern of a subtropical ridge of high pressure over the south takes hold. In addition to the stormy pattern over the Midwest, we have done quite well in the moisture department from this weather pattern this June, with 2.51” of precipitation measured downtown through last Thursday, compared to the monthly average of 1.51”. While the rest of the official precipitation data for June won’t be published for a few days, adding in an estimated third of an inch we received on Friday with whatever falls through today means we should be around double the monthly average. Look for a vibrant wildflower display in July and a great summer berry crop for the wildlife.
A wave of moisture rotating clockwise around the west side of the subtropical high pressure will bring good precipitation chances from later today and tonight through Monday with possibly strong storms. The high temperature will cool from the low eighties today, several degrees above our average of eighty degrees, to the upper seventies on Monday thanks to cloud cover.
And similar to last Friday, the approaching storm from the West Coast will interact with the existing moisture to bring likely storms from Monday afternoon through the night and into Tuesday morning. We should see a final push of precipitation early Tuesday morning as the cool front passes through our area, with dry air and mostly sunny skies by the afternoon and high temperatures almost ten degrees below our average.
Temperatures will rebound back to average on Wednesday, but cool and dry air from western Canada dropping southward behind a building ridge of high pressure over the West Coast should keep very pleasant weather overhead with plenty of sun and high temperatures in the upper seventies for Independence Day.
Another wave of cool air may approach our area before the weekend, and another after, but there is weather forecast model uncertainty as to the timing and strength. So enjoy the last couple of days of our wet June pattern and the very pleasant weather that follows for midweek and Independence Day, and be sure to check back Thursday afternoon for my next regularly scheduled weather narrative.
