Weather to clear this afternoon ahead of a nice workweek
Sunday, January 26, 2025
Temperatures are in the upper teens in Steamboat Springs and low teens near the top of the Steamboat Ski Resort with occasional snow flurries this Sunday mid-morning. Skies should begin clearing later today with seasonable temperatures and more sun than not forecast for most of the workweek. Unsettled weather looks to return around next weekend.
A ridge of high pressure currently extends southward from the Gulf of Alaska while an eddy of low pressure spins just off the central California coast. The stationary front that brought five inches of snow to mid-mountain and eight inches up top through the weekend is being further deprived of moisture as the California eddy moves southward. So the light snow showers prevalent at higher elevations will continue to diminish today ahead of some sun for the afternoon.
The weather pattern for the workweek will be quiet as our region will be caught in the col between the California eddy and the northwest flow to our north rounding the Gulf of Alaska ridge. Seasonable temperatures with highs between five degrees above and below our thirty-degree average will persist through the workweek, with low temperatures on the cooler side of our five-degree average as periods of clear skies, light winds and snow cover create ideal conditions for the usual high-valley temperature inversions to form.
The eddy of low pressure is forecast to elongate and wobble first southward and then eastward through Arizona on Tuesday and Wednesday, and New Mexico on Thursday. While southern Colorado will see some precipitation during this period, we will remain dry, with more sun than not and some gusty easterly winds beginning around Monday night thanks to air moving counterclockwise around the eddy.
While the eddy may eventually bring a storm to the Front Range around the end of the workweek, another storm currently extending south from the Aleutian Islands is forecast to move eastward, pushing the weakening West Coast ridge eastward and over our area. So we should close out the workweek on a pleasant note before unsettled weather begins around next weekend as the Aleutian storm approaches.
There is quite a bit of uncertainty regarding the next storm cycle due to the splitting nature of the Aleutian storm as it moves through the Gulf of Alaska midweek. So enjoy the pleasant workweek, with near-average temperatures for a change, and check back to my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Thursday afternoon for more details on the possible weekend storm.
