Again, unsettled weather to start the workweek
Sunday, May 4, 2025
Mostly sunny skies and temperatures already in the mid-sixties, on the way toward seventy degrees, are over Steamboat Springs late this Sunday morning. Invading clouds this afternoon and a stray shower will begin a cooler, but still mild period of unsettled weather that will last through midweek.
A storm that crossed the West Coast yesterday has split, with the southern end forming an eddy over southern California. The eddy is forecast to move toward the Four Corners by Monday night and wobble into the eastern Colorado plains by Wednesday. Moisture from both the Pacific behind the storm and the Gulf of Mexico ahead of the storm will bring beneficial precipitation to Colorado, with limited cold air confining snow accumulations to above 8,500′.
Though some showers moving from the southeast may accompany the invading clouds this afternoon, the best precipitation should occur from later Monday through Tuesday as a cool front associated with the northern part of the split storm grazes our area Monday night. Precipitation will continue through Tuesday evening as the eddy slowly wobbles across Colorado, though amounts in the valley will be modest and only amount to several tenths of an inch. Better precipitation is expected at the higher elevations, though snowfall amounts here should only total several inches at and above pass level. Much higher totals are possible for the open ski areas to our east and south.
Additional energy and moisture will rotate counterclockwise around the eddy on Wednesday, briefly elongating it back westward and over our area, keeping clouds and afternoon showers around. A modest ridge of high pressure ahead of another advancing and strong storm in the Gulf of Alaska will force the eddy east of Colorado by Thursday, perhaps bringing some sun for the morning, but leaving chances for afternoon and evening showers.
The ridge of high pressure is forecast to build eastward and merge with another ridge of high pressure forecast to form over the Great Lakes, behind the northern part of the split storm that brought the cool front through our area earlier on Monday night. Interestingly, moisture will be carried northward and over our area for Friday and the weekend as winds rotate clockwise around the high pressure, leaving chances for afternoon and evening storms and foreshadowing the arrival of the summer North American Monsoon.
Cold air is lacking with the eddy, with high temperatures falling into the mid-sixties on Monday and near sixty degrees on Tuesday, the coolest day of the week, and just below our average of 62 F. Wednesday will be a degree or two warmer, with mid-sixties on Thursday and near seventy degrees on Friday. Let’s hope for beneficial precipitation to start the week, as our rapidly diminishing snowpack is just under two-thirds of average, and check back for more details on what is looking like a pleasant weekend in my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Thursday afternoon.
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