This weekend to stay hot with some shower chances by later Sunday

Thursday, August 1, 2024

That the heart of the summer is upon us is underscored by the 89 F temperature this Thursday mid-afternoon in Steamboat Springs under sunny skies. The mercury will rise a degree or two through Saturday with precipitation chances near nil until Sunday afternoon when a trickle of moisture may lead to a late-day shower and high temperatures falling back into the upper eighties.

A monstrous ridge of high pressure is over the West and almost directly centered over Colorado. High temperatures just above ninety degrees, over five degrees above our average of 84 F, are forecast for Friday and Saturday, with a shot at breaking the Saturday record high temperatures of 93 F set in 2000.

There is a chance that we may see some light winds from the east at times over the weekend as air rotates clockwise around the center of the ridge. This could be significant if it occurs as it may transport smoke from fires burning in the Front Range foothills over our area, though the latest NOAA smoke plume forecast has backed away from the scenario in its latest iteration. The model is run four times a day, so make your own forecast by clicking the View All button and then checking the Animate checkbox at the top of the map screen.

Otherwise, some monsoonal moisture has been pulled northwards over southern California and the Desert Southwest, and eventually may be carried over our area later Sunday for some clouds, a couple of degrees of cooling and modest chances for an afternoon or evening shower.

Those shower chances may persist to start the workweek as temperatures slowly moderate. Better chances may arrive by midweek as a wave of energy breaks away from a strong storm spinning south of the Aleutian Islands and interacts with the high pressure ridge over the West.

So enjoy the hot days and cool nights of the peak of summer, and check back to my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Sunday afternoon for an update on our shower chances next week.

• Posted at 3:57:02 PM in Steamboat forecast discussion
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