Winter weather to return early Friday morning
Thursday, March 13, 2025
Temperatures have retreated from near fifty degrees this Thursday mid-afternoon in Steamboat Springs thanks to invading clouds ahead of a winter storm to start early Friday morning. Significant snowfall and difficult travel over Rabbit Ears Pass will moderate by Friday afternoon, though cold temperatures and snow showers will persist through Sunday morning. A break in the weather will last through Monday before a similar storm is forecast for Tuesday.
A strong storm that is pummeling the West Coast and brought over two feet of snow to some of the California ski resorts is quickly moving through the Great Basin. Clouds have increased in the southwest winds ahead of the storm, with some showers producing little accumulation possible tonight before the cold front arrives early Friday morning, likely just after the morning ski report.
Don’t be fooled by the slow start to the storm overnight as plummeting temperatures and moderate to heavy snow showers are expected through noon, bringing 6-12” of snow at mid-mountain and lighter showers in the afternoon. High temperatures in town are only expected to reach around thirty degrees, fifteen degrees below our average of 45 F, with mountain-top temperatures starting the morning in the low-teens and high temperatures only reaching the upper teens.
The front will also bring windy conditions, with westerly mountain-top winds increasing through the morning before reaching average speeds of almost 30 mph by the early afternoon, and gusts nearing twice that. Snowfall rates between one and two inches per hour and gusty winds will likely create difficult travel over Rabbit Ears Pass from sunrise through noon on Friday.
Though the heaviest snowfall will be over by early Friday afternoon, some light snow showers should continue through the rest of the day with another 1-4” possible by Saturday morning There may be a break Friday night into Saturday morning, but a trailing wave passing to our south should keep the cold temperatures around and restart snow showers from Saturday afternoon through the night in our favorable moist, cold and unstable northwest flow, with 2-5” possible by the Sunday morning report.
The weather should improve on Sunday with some sun possible by the afternoon, especially in town, as temperatures there warm toward forty degrees on Sunday and fifty degrees on a sunnier Monday. But that break will be short-lived as a similar winter storm approaches our area for Tuesday.
So enjoy the return of winter after this gorgeous springlike week, and hope there is enough snow on Friday to adequately cover what will be a frozen surface in most places. Be sure to check back Sunday afternoon for my next regularly scheduled weather narrative with more details on our next winter storm.
