Cooler weekend temperatures with precipitation chances later today and Friday night
Thursday, November 6, 2025
After a cloudy morning in Steamboat Springs that produced a quick noon shower, some partial clearing early this Thursday afternoon should give way to some more showers later today. Another brief period of mostly sunny skies to start Friday will be followed by increasing afternoon clouds and late afternoon and overnight precipitation chances. Increasingly sunny but cool weather is advertised for the weekend, followed by another warm and dry workweek.
An ejected piece of energy from a storm bringing high winds and precipitation to the Pacific Northwest and northern California was responsible for the noon shower, with another piece bringing more precipitation chances later this afternoon and tonight. These showers produced some brief low-elevation graupel and a dusting of snow above 9,000′, according to Steamboat’s upper mountain powdercam and mid-mountain powdercam.
While Friday will start mostly sunny, the Pacific Northwest storm is forecast to travel through Idaho early in the day and across the northern Rockies Friday night. Increasing clouds by noon on Friday will give way to another round of showers by Friday afternoon and evening as the southern end of the storm passes through our area, with some snowflakes possible in town. High temperatures for the day will be within a few degrees of our average of forty-seven degrees, quite the cooldown from the mid-to-upper sixties we enjoyed earlier this week.
There could be several inches of snow at high elevations by Saturday morning, on a cool day, with high temperatures only in the low forties. An additional wave of dry and cold air spinning around a vortex over Hudson Bay will be ingested by the trailing edge of the storm Saturday night, bringing low temperatures in the mid-teens for Sunday morning, below our average of nineteen degrees, and good for snowmaking operations at the Steamboat Ski Resort.
Temperatures will warm back to around average on a mostly sunny Sunday as a ridge of high pressure begins to build over the West ahead of a strong storm forecast to develop over the eastern Pacific. Even warmer temperatures are forecast to start the workweek, with little hope for precipitation until the end of the workweek or the following weekend.
Enjoy the improving weather for the weekend, and I’ll have more details on the eastern Pacific storm and the end-of-week precipitation chances in my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Sunday afternoon.
Gorgeous weather to continue through midweek with cold front later Thursday
Sunday, November 2, 2025
A spectacular fall day is over Steamboat Springs this Sunday, with sunny skies and temperatures already at sixty degrees as we approach noon. Warm and mostly sunny weather will continue through midweek before a weakening cold front approaches later Thursday.
A ridge of high pressure extending northward from the Desert Southwest has diverted the jet stream to be over the northern Rockies, keeping the storm track and cold air bottled up over Canada. Our average high temperature of fifty degrees will be exceeded by ten to fifteen degrees through Wednesday, with mostly sunny skies except for some clouds Monday morning as a weak disturbance from southern California moves overhead.
Meanwhile, a storm approaching the Aleutian Islands is forecast to intensify as it crosses the Gulf of Alaska and crosses the Pacific Northwest coast on Wednesday. The ridge of high pressure that was responsible for this stunning fall weather will be forced eastward as a cold front associated with the storm moves through our area sometime on Thursday.
The front, which will turn winds to be from the northwest, has trended weaker in the weather forecast models. Still, as of today, it will be strong enough to cool high temperatures back to around average on Thursday, or perhaps below, with rain showers possible in town and accumulating snow showers likely at higher elevations.
Be sure to enjoy the spectacular weather through midweek. I’ll have the latest details on the Thursday cold front and if the unsettled weather in cool northwest flow lingers into next weekend in my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Thursday afternoon.
Beautiful weekend ahead, with warm temperatures by Sunday
Thursday, October 30, 2025
After reaching almost fifty-five degrees this afternoon, temperatures have dropped into the mid-forties this early evening in Steamboat Springs as the sun sets. A wave of cold air moving to our northeast will bring some clouds by tonight and a few degrees of cooling on Friday, despite skies turning mostly sunny after noon, leaving fine weather for a Halloween stroll. High temperatures rebound a few degrees on Saturday before warming to the low sixties starting Sunday and lasting through midweek.
A wave of cold air is sliding southeastward toward the Midwest on the backside of a ridge of high pressure extending northward from the Pacific Northwest. The wave will clip our area starting tonight, bringing some cloudiness that will last through Friday morning, and cooler air that will lower high temperatures a few degrees below our average of fifty-one degrees.
A trailing wave may start Saturday with some clouds, but mostly sunny skies by the afternoon will allow high temperatures to rise back to the low fifties.
Meanwhile, a strong storm rotating through the Gulf of Alaska will push the Pacific Northwest ridge of high pressure eastward and over our area by Sunday, even as the ridge weakens and shifts south due to energy ejecting from the Gulf of Alaska storm. Winds will shift to be from the northwest to the warmer west, allowing high temperatures to rise into the low sixties on Sunday and producing a stunning fall day.
The gorgeous weather is forecast to persist to start the workweek, and may last through midweek before we see the first chances for precipitation near the end of the workweek. Be sure to take advantage of the gorgeous fall weather, enjoy your Halloween, including Friday’s annual Halloween Stroll, and check back for more details on a possible incoming storm in my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Sunday afternoon.
Cold temperatures with a bit of snow to start the workweek
Sunday, October 26, 2025
Temperatures in the upper fifties and mostly cloudy skies are over Steamboat Springs early this Sunday afternoon, though some blue skies are visible to the west. An approaching storm from the Pacific Northwest will bring breezy winds and cold air starting tonight, along with a modicum of moisture on Monday, and even colder air on a dry Tuesday. The rest of the workweek will feature moderately warmer temperatures and dry weather.
Colorado is officially open for skiing, as Keystone became the first North American ski area to open Saturday afternoon, followed by Arapahoe Basin this morning. On cue, an approaching storm system from the Pacific Northwest will bring several cold fronts through our area starting tonight, accompanied by breezy winds and limited moisture as the leading edge of the storm is deflected to our northeast by a ridge of high pressure extending northward from the Great Lakes.
While snowflakes may start tonight at higher elevations, accumulations of up to several inches are possible by Monday evening above 9,000′ as another surge of cold air moves through our area during the afternoon. And those snowflakes may also appear in town on Monday as high temperatures only reach the mid-forties, below our average of fifty-three degrees, though any accumulations at low elevations are unlikely.
Another surge of cold air arrives Monday night, though this last one will bring much drier air overhead. Low temperatures should fall to the teens on Tuesday morning, perhaps as cold as ten degrees below our average of twenty-two degrees, likely allowing for the start of snowmaking operations near the base of the Steamboat Ski Area. Tuesday should be a mostly sunny but cold day, with high temperatures struggling to break out of the thirties.
Clear skies and light winds on Tuesday night mean another cold start to Wednesday with low temperatures in the low teens, and another productive night of snowmaking, perhaps the last for a while. A ridge of high pressure is then forecast to build overhead starting on Wednesday as the remaining part of the storm moves into the Great Plains, undercutting the ridge of high pressure that was over the Great Lakes.
Expect another day of mostly sunny skies on Wednesday, with high temperatures rebounding to approach fifty degrees. A storm developing in the Gulf of Alaska on Tuesday is forecast to move over the top of the ridge of high pressure on Thursday, grazing our area with some clouds, but still allowing high temperatures to rise into the low-fifties.
Another storm forecast to develop in the Gulf of Alaska near the end of the workweek may strengthen the jet stream moving across the northern Rockies by the weekend. Though the jet is forecast to remain north of our area, allowing the dry weather to continue, there may be enough moisture moving inland for at least some of next weekend to be cloudy.
Enjoy the change in weather to start the workweek, and I’ll have more details about what to expect for Friday’s annual Halloween Stroll and the weekend in my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Thursday afternoon.
Storms tonight and later Sunday to bookend a nice weekend
Thursday, October 23, 2025
After high temperatures in the upper-fifties with a mix of sun and clouds this Thursday morning in Steamboat Springs, clouds have invaded by mid-afternoon in advance of a storm near the Four Corners. Expect some precipitation later today and tonight, with the snowline around pass level, before nice weather returns starting Friday and lasting through most of the weekend. A cold front is forecast to graze our area later Sunday, likely bringing a bit of snow to town by Monday morning.
An eddy of low pressure left behind by the storm one week ago near Baja has been pushed to the Four Corners by an approaching Pacific Northwest storm. While the eddy will graze our area as it moves across southern Colorado and northern New Mexico through Friday, it will be close enough to begin precipitation by later this afternoon or early this evening, with snowfall accumulations of up to several inches starting around 9,000′ possible.
Precipitation should end by Friday morning, with mostly sunny skies by the afternoon, accompanied by high temperatures several degrees above our average of fifty-five degrees. Another nice day is forecast on Saturday, with high temperatures a bit warmer than Friday and near sixty degrees.
Meanwhile, a storm now approaching the Pacific Northwest will make its way to Idaho by Saturday, bringing increasing clouds to our area by Sunday and lowering high temperatures to around average. The storm has trended northward due to a building ridge of high pressure over the Great Lakes, with only a grazing cold front now forecast for later Sunday afternoon or evening.
While precipitation amounts are uncertain, colder temperatures are not; expect high temperatures to start the week in the forties. It will eventually be cold enough for snowflakes in town by Monday morning, possibly with some light accumulations on grassy surfaces.
A reinforcing wave of cold air will keep high temperatures mired in the forties on Monday, with precipitation ending first at lower elevations. Another day of cold temperatures on a dry Tuesday is forecast to be followed by sunny skies and warming temperatures starting midweek.
So, enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend for as long as it lasts, and I’ll have more details about the approaching storm to start the workweek in my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Sunday afternoon.
