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.

• Posted at 4:14:07 PM in Steamboat forecast discussion
• Add a comment