Pleasant weekend with possible showers later today and Saturday
Thursday, April 9, 2026
A mix of sun and clouds is over Steamboat Springs early this Thursday afternoon with temperatures around 60 degrees. Other than some shower chances later today, with a better chance Saturday, warm and pleasant weather is forecast for the weekend, followed by a stretch of cool and unsettled weather next week.
The official March data from the weather station near the high school have been published, with the most notable extremes being the warmest March day and month since 1893, when record-keeping began in Steamboat Springs.
The new March high-temperature record of 81 degrees, reached on both Saturday, March 21, and Tuesday, March 24, shattered the previous record of 70 degrees set in 2017. Unbelievably, that was even warmer than the highest temperature ever recorded in April, 79 degrees, set in the last 2 days of April, 2000, and the last day of April, 1943.
Additionally, we tied or broke daily high-temperature records for 12 of the last 14 days of March, resulting in the warmest average high temperature for the month of 60.3 degrees, shattering the old record of 52.7 degrees in 1910, and even the 14th warmest for April! The monthly average temperature record (the average of every daily high and low temperature) was also broken, reaching 42.6 degrees, surpassing the previous record of 37.1 degrees set in 2017.
Now a low-pressure eddy sits off the northern California coast while the northern part of a split storm moves southeastward across the Gulf of Alaska. Some Pacific moisture has moved overhead in advance of the eddy, bringing the chance of a late-afternoon or evening shower, with high temperatures in the mid-to-upper sixties, well above our average of 53 degrees.
The eddy will be kicked eastward while weakening, even as it is eventually replaced by the Gulf of Alaska storm, which will itself form an eddy. A transient ridge of high pressure ahead of the weakening eddy on Friday will allow warmer high temperatures to reach the low seventies, despite mid and high-level clouds.
Shower chances increase on Saturday, perhaps as early as noon and continuing through the night, as the weakening eddy moves across Utah, grazing our area with a cool front that will lower high temperatures back into the mid-sixties.
The new eddy is forecast to move into Northern California by Saturday night, with drier air, afternoon breezes, and high temperatures in the low sixties gracing the Duane Betts & Palmetto Motel and the Wailers concerts at the base of the now-closed Steamboat Ski Resort on Sunday.
It is forecast to weaken as it moves eastward, bringing showers and cooler weather into our area by later Monday, with possible snowflakes in town and significant snowfall at higher elevations on Tuesday. Enjoy the pleasant weekend ahead, and I’ll have more details on the incoming storm in my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Sunday afternoon.
