Temperatures to cool with good rain chances lasting through the weekend
Thursday, August 8, 2024
Clouds have invaded the Steamboat Springs area early this Thursday afternoon with comfortable temperatures in the mid-seventies. These clouds herald the arrival of monsoonal moisture which will keep high temperatures around eighty degrees and allow for good rain chances through the weekend and into the following workweek.
The jet stream is currently oriented over the northern two-thirds of the U.S., separating cool air centered over the upper Midwest from a flat ridge of hot high pressure over the southern half of the country, save for the remnants of Tropical Storm Debbie currently over the Carolinas. Luckily, the high temperatures of 92 F over last weekend, which on Saturday was one degree shy of the record 93 F set in 2000, have been replaced by cooler air under the jet stream with high temperatures near eighty degrees forecast through the week, comfortably below our average of 83 F.
Additionally, monsoonal moisture rotating around the high pressure cell over the Southwest has approached us from the west. Modest rain chances will start later today and possibly Friday, but become likely through the weekend and into next week. Rain chances on Friday are uncertain thanks to a pocket of dry air currently centered over the Great Salt Lake that may or may not be close enough to reduce the chance of storms.
The proximity of the jet stream will allow ripples in the flow to interact with the monsoonal moisture, encouraging storms even at night. Any storm may produce brief moderate to heavy rain, small hail and gusty winds.
Lastly, the NOAA Smoke Plume Model shows smoke from California wildfires in and out of our area over at least the next 48 hours which may affect air quality. That model is updated four times a day, so make your own forecasts through the weekend by clicking the View All button and then checking the Animate checkbox at the top of the map screen.
Enjoy the cooler weekend, hope for the rains to come and the smoke to stay away, and check back to my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Sunday afternoon for details on how long this monsoonal moisture surge may last.
