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.
Another gorgeous weekend ahead
Thursday, May 1, 2025
Temperatures are in the low-fifties with partly cloudy skies in Steamboat Springs late this Thursday afternoon. A departing storm will give way to another gorgeous spring weekend to start May with temperatures approaching seventy degrees. Enjoy the pleasant weather as, similar to last weekend, unsettled weather will return as soon as Sunday night.
Winter moved back into the area last Sunday night, bringing two inches of snow in town, five inches at mid-mountain and six inches up top. While that was more snow than predicted in last Sunday’s weather narrative, the cold front late Wednesday was less productive for our area as it settled over the central mountains, bringing only a half-inch at mid-mountain and two inches up top, but leaving today’s temperatures below our average of sixty degrees.
That storm split, with the piece left behind ending up over southern California, and too far south to affect our weather this weekend. So a building ridge of high pressure ahead of another strong storm extending south from the Gulf of Alaska will bring mostly sunny skies for most of the weekend, with high temperatures rising into the low-sixties on Friday, upper-sixties on Saturday, and to around seventy degrees on Sunday.
The incoming storm is forecast to split as it crosses the West Coast late Saturday, forming an eddy at the southern end that will move to Arizona and Utah on Monday. Clouds will invade our area ahead of the storm by Sunday afternoon, with some rain showers possible by the end of the day, but more likely holding off until Sunday night.
There is a lot of uncertainty for next week regarding not only the track of the incoming eddy and its residence time in the West, but also the amount of cold air that wraps into the back of the storm and the amount of moisture ingested into the front of the storm.
Most of the uncertainty in moisture is due to the leftover eddy now in California that is forecast to move along the Mexican border this weekend. Interestingly, by the beginning of the workweek, counter-clockwise winds around the eddy may draw moisture from the Gulf of Mexico northwestward and into the new storm.
So enjoy what promises to be stellar weather for most of the first weekend in May, and check back for more details on what could be a wet start to the upcoming workweek.
