Hot week ahead
Sunday, July 5, 2026
A few clouds and temperatures in the upper 80s are making for a hot summer day this Sunday mid-afternoon in Steamboat Springs. Wildfire smoke revisits our region starting Monday, with some Pacific moisture bringing clouds, a few degrees of cooling, and dry thunderstorm chances on Tuesday and Wednesday. The cooler-but-still-above-average temperatures persist on Thursday before record-challenging temperatures in the mid-to-upper 90s arrive next weekend.
A weak subtropical disturbance crossing the Central California coast is forecast to ride over a ridge of high pressure extending northward from the Southern Rockies. The Pacific disturbance is carrying limited moisture that will stay to our west on Monday, allowing high temperatures to rise to around 90 degrees, above our 82-degree average.
However, the NOAA smoke model shows some wildfire smoke rotating around the western side of the high pressure, possibly reducing air quality starting on Monday. The model only forecasts out to 48 hours, so I encourage you to check the latest model runs during the week.
The moisture will pass overhead on Tuesday and Wednesday, creating clouds and dropping high temperatures by only a few degrees. Some of these clouds may form thunderstorms, with most of the rain evaporating before it reaches the ground, forming virga, and creating gusty, erratic winds - not good for wildfire behavior.
Meanwhile, a storm in the Gulf of Alaska is forecast to cross the British Columbia coast midweek, temporarily flattening the ridge of high pressure over the Southern and Central Rockies. The dry thunderstorm chances will decrease on Thursday, the coolest day of the week, with high temperatures still in the mid-80s, before the ridge oozes westward to the Four Corners and significantly strengthens.
The building ridge will bring 90-degree temperatures back to our area on Friday, with possible record-challenging mid-to-upper 90s next weekend. Let’s hope the winds around the wildfires to our south and southwest are subdued, and I’ll have more details on the hottest weekend of the summer so far in my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Thursday afternoon.
