Summery workweek ahead
Sunday, May 31, 2026
Temperatures are in the low 60s, headed to the mid 60s, this Sunday mid-afternoon in Steamboat Springs. Today, a mix of sun, clouds, and a few raindrops marks the end of the storm system that brought around 2/3” of rainfall to town between Thursday and Saturday. Appropriately, the first day of meteorological summer on Monday, June 1, will see mid-70s temperatures and mostly sunny skies. Even warmer temperatures around 80 degrees will be with us through the workweek, with mostly sunny skies prevailing except on Wednesday, when a weak disturbance passes through the area.
The rainfall over the last several days boosted the accumulated May rainfall to a welcome 3.51”, exceeding the 2.65” average by about a third, while the 2” of snowfall on May 5th was just below the 2.8” monthly average.
The main part of the previous storm system has been deflected into Montana by a building ridge of high pressure extending from Texas into the Great Plains. A trailing wave, responsible for the clouds and a few raindrops today, is grazing our area and will follow the main storm into Montana on Monday, leaving our area with mostly sunny skies and high temperatures in the mid-70s, just above the average of 72 degrees.
Even warmer temperatures around 80 degrees are forecast on a mostly sunny Tuesday as the Texas ridge of high pressure builds into the upper Midwest.
Meanwhile, a weak Pacific disturbance, perhaps associated with a lobe of energy ejecting from a developing storm in the Gulf of Alaska, is forecast to cross the southern California coast on Tuesday and split, with the southern part of the split moving south into Baja and the northern part riding northward along the west side of the Texas ridge.
We may see some Tuesday afternoon clouds ahead of the disturbance, with more clouds on Wednesday as mid-level moisture increases from both the disturbance and from moisture carried northward from the clockwise circulation around the Texas ridge.
Weak counterclockwise winds rotating around the Baja disturbance will provide another source of northward-moving moisture in a monsoonal-like pattern, perhaps bringing another cloudy afternoon on Thursday, depending upon the eventual westward extent of the moisture.
More summery weather is forecast heading into next weekend, with uncertainty near the end of the weekend regarding the southern extent of the Gulf of Alaska storm as it crosses the Pacific Northwest coast mid-weekend. The European ECMWF is advertising a split storm, with the southern part moving into the Great Basin on Sunday, while the American GFS rotates an intact storm across the Northern Rockies.
So enjoy the stellar first week of meteorological summer, and I’ll have more details about the weekend in my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Thursday afternoon.
Cold front Friday night to be followed by weekend shower chances
Thursday, May 28, 2026
Temperatures are a degree shy of 80 degrees late on this Thursday afternoon in Steamboat Springs with mostly sunny skies. After another warm Friday, a cold front from an approaching storm that evening will bring a cool Saturday with a chance of showers. Pleasant weather returns on Sunday as shower chances substantially decrease and temperatures moderate ahead of a warm and dry workweek.
The Texas storm I discussed in the Memorial Day weather narrative ended up farther west than forecast, bringing enough of a low-pressure area across the Colorado Plains to force good-for-nothing, annoying, gusty easterly winds to our area on Wednesday evening. There may be enough of that storm left behind for a brief period of winds with an easterly component this evening as well, though likely not as strong and persistent as yesterday.
Now, the California eddy is moving eastward, nudged along by a storm in the Gulf of Alaska also moving eastward. The eddy will cross Nevada and Utah on Friday, dragging a cold front through our area Friday night as it rotates across northern Colorado and Wyoming. After a mostly sunny Friday with high temperatures in the mid-seventies, above our 70-degree average, there is a small chance of afternoon showers ahead of the front.
Shower chances increase along and behind the front from Friday night through a much cooler Saturday, with high temperatures in the low-60s and a dusting of snow possible above 10,000′ Friday night. Even though the storm is followed by some energy leaking southward from the Gulf of Alaska storm, both will rotate northward into Montana and Idaho on Sunday as they encounter a stout ridge of high pressure extending southward from the Canadian Plains into the Central Plains.
Temperatures will stay below average on Sunday, but warm into the mid-to-upper sixties under a mix of sun and clouds, and decreased chances for late-day showers.
A ridge of high pressure is forecast to develop over Texas on Monday, building northward through the workweek and bringing very pleasant, dry weather to our area with mostly sunny skies. The low-70s to start the workweek should reach the summerlike 80-degree mark after midweek.
Enjoy your weekend, hope for wetting rains on Saturday, and I’ll have more details about the workweek in my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Sunday afternoon.
Beautiful Memorial Day to be followed by Tuesday showers
Monday, May 25, 2026
Temperatures are around 70 degrees, on their way to the upper seventies, under mostly sunny skies late this Memorial Day morning in Steamboat Springs. While there may be a chance of showers today, shower chances are good on a cooler Tuesday before decreasing again for the rest of the workweek.
A complex weather pattern is over the western U.S. with a large eddy of low pressure moving southward along the Pacific Northwest coast, two small low pressure areas over Arizona and eastern Texas, and a ridge of high pressure over the northern Rockies.
Some moisture from the Arizona storm will be drawn northward by the southerly winds ahead of the Pacific Northwest storm today, bringing some clouds this afternoon with chances for some showers. But that won’t stop high temperatures from reaching into the high 70s, almost 10 degrees above our 69-degree average.
The Arizona storm will shear apart as it moves northward on Tuesday, combining with moisture moving around the eastern Texas storm and bringing a good chance of afternoon and evening showers, perhaps starting before noon, and cooler temperatures in the low 70s.
Meanwhile, the Pacific Northwest storm is forecast to stall over northern California by midweek, with its southerly winds now carrying drier air overhead on what might be a mostly sunny Wednesday, allowing high temperatures to rise back to the upper 70s.
However the Texas storm will also be moving northward across Kansas by Wednesday, with the weak counterclockwise winds around the storm perhaps bringing some moisture back to Colorado. There is some uncertainty regarding the westward extent of this moisture on Wednesday, with the American GFS having a chance of late-day storms. Weather forecast models are more in agreement on Thursday for a chance of late-day showers, but not before temperatures reach around 80 degrees.
While that stalled northern California eddy is forecast to finally move northeastward around Friday, it may or may not be close enough to affect the weekend weather. So enjoy the traditional Memorial Day barbecues on this beautiful, unofficial first day of the summer season, and I’ll have more details on the coming weekend in my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Thursday afternoon.
Temperatures to warm during pleasant Memorial Day weekend
Friday, May 22, 2026
After almost a half-inch of rain fell in Steamboat Springs starting Thursday afternoon, and 3” of snow at mid-mountain, a mix of sun and clouds is over town early this Friday afternoon with temperatures around 50 degrees. The cold front yesterday will be followed by a pleasant Memorial Day weekend, with mostly sunny skies and warming temperatures, reaching almost 80 degrees by Memorial Day.
The wintry pattern that brought a series of storms from the Pacific Northwest this past month will revert to a more summery pattern by Memorial Day as winds turn southwesterly, carrying warmer air northward as a storm develops in the Gulf of Alaska. But the storm’s eastward progress will be stalled by a building ridge of high pressure east of the Rockies, a result of the increasingly strong late-spring sun.
Temperatures are forecast to warm about 10 degrees on Saturday, around the 68-degree average, under mostly sunny skies. Even warmer temperatures in the mid-70s are forecast for Sunday, with a possible afternoon and evening shower as southerly winds ahead of the developing Gulf of Alaska storm drag some moisture overhead.
Eighty degrees is forecast for a very nice Memorial Day, with a moderate chance of late-day showers as the Gulf of Alaska moves southward along the Pacific Northwest coast, strengthening a wave of energy ingested from off the southern California coast, and carrying a stronger surge of moisture across the Great Basin and our area.
The best chance of showers will be on Tuesday afternoon as that wave of energy moves northward across Utah, bringing clouds early in the day that will limit our high temperatures to the low 70s.
Enjoy what should be a very nice, long Memorial Day weekend. Note that I will not be able to produce my regularly scheduled on Sunday afternoon, and will try for Monday, but no promises. Regardless, I will be back with the usual programming on Thursday afternoon.
Wintry cold front to start the workweek
Sunday, May 17, 2026
The skies over Steamboat Springs have turned threatening on this Sunday mid-afternoon as a wintry storm affects our area through Monday. After ejecting energy brought high-elevation snowfall and town rainfall last night, thunderstorm chances for the rest of today and tonight will be followed by a cold front on Monday, bringing another round of significant precipitation to our area, including snowflakes in town.
A wintry storm over Nevada is forecast to move across Utah tonight and our area on Monday. An ejecting wave of energy from the storm last night brought 4” of snowfall to the top of the Steamboat Ski Resort, 3” to mid-mountain, and 0.4” of rain to town in the 3 hours between 2 am and 5 am.
The storm is strong, already producing a radar-indicated tornado warning around the Meeker area early this afternoon, and some pellets of soft hail from a thunderstorm near the base of the ski area. Continued thunderstorm chances with locally heavy precipitation, small hail, and strong gusty winds ahead of the main storm are likely for the rest of today and tonight, before it passes almost directly overhead around noon on Monday, bringing a strong mid-morning cold front and moderate-to-heavy precipitation rates.
In fact, while writing this weather narrative, that cell from Meeker just passed overhead with the above hazards, including half-inch soft hail and a temperature drop from 55 degrees at 3 pm to 42 degrees in 20 minutes!
We’ll see rain and snowflakes in town on Monday, with temperatures in the forties, well below our average of 66 degrees, and around another 6” of snowfall on the hill by Monday evening as precipitation tapers off during the afternoon.
The storm will shear apart as it passes over the Rocky Mountains, leaving some energy to our southwest that will form a broad trough of low pressure over the West through midweek as additional Pacific energy moves over the top of a Gulf of Alaska ridge and down its eastern side.
Tuesday will be a much drier, but still-cool day with high temperatures only reaching the low-fifties, with a chance of afternoon showers as energy moves through the trough to our southwest. Afternoon storm chances will persist on a warmer Wednesday, with high temperatures closer to 60 degrees, as a stronger wave of Pacific energy dislodges the trough to our southwest.
This stronger wave moves over our area later Thursday, bringing increasing shower chances, with trailing energy following on Friday for a similar forecast. I am not sure the temperature guidance has factored in these end-of-week waves, but it is predicting mid-60s for Thursday and upper-sixties on Friday.
My next weather narrative may not be in its usual Thursday afternoon time slot, as I’ll be traveling through the long Memorial Day weekend. So if not, then please check back on Friday, or sign up to have this twice-weekly weather narrative delivered to your inbox for free.
