Classic spring weather to last through midweek
Sunday, April 21, 2024
Temperatures are in the mid-thirties in Steamboat Springs and upper twenties near the top of the Steamboat Resort under brilliant blue skies this Sunday mid-morning. Classic spring weather has arrived for Closing Day today and will last through midweek ahead of a pattern change that will bring unsettled weather back to our area for the end of the work week and the coming weekend.
The Steamboat Resort will close today with a base of 60” at mid-mountain and 108” up top after receiving a season total of 389” of snowfall at mid-mountain. Curiously, the resort does not publish the upper-mountain season total which certainly is far higher. And interestingly, even though the 389” fell short of the 448” received last season by over four feet, we enjoyed six days of a foot or more reported at mid-mountain this season, compared to only two last season!
I’ve attached an updated chart of the water stored in the Yampa-White-Little Snake basin snowpack in black which includes the measurements from the 2015-2016 season in red, which water managers say is thus far very similar to this year. The upper blue and lower red lines show the aggregated maximum and minimum snowpack measurements since the 1985-1986 season. Interestingly, the 2015-2016 season shows a couple of storms in late April and early May, and it looks like at least that first storm cycle may be repeated this weekend.
A ridge of high pressure is currently over most of the West while a compact storm is centered over Vancouver. Our weather will be quite pleasant today, with a high temperature around sixty degrees, which is about five degrees above our average of 56 F. Even warmer temperatures in the mid-sixties are expected for Monday, though afternoon winds will be increasing ahead of the Vancouver storm which is forecast to travel along the Canadian border and graze our area.
There may be some showers overnight Monday, with temperatures falling back a few degrees Tuesday as the cool front associated with the storm grazes our area. Light showers will be possible from Tuesday afternoon through the overnight thanks to some moisture and weak energy trailing the storm.
Meanwhile, a storm currently over the Aleutians is forecast to split, with the southern end forming a weak eddy that crosses the southern California coast later Wednesday. A ridge of high pressure ahead of the storm is forecast to bring the warmest day of the week on Wednesday with high temperatures approaching the upper sixties.
That storm is forecast to move through Colorado later Thursday with showers likely by the end of the day. This will mark the beginning of a cool and wet period that looks to last through the weekend as additional Pacific energy moves through the West. So enjoy the classic springtime weather through midweek, and be sure to check back to my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Thursday afternoon for the latest details on the coming weekend weather.
Unsettled weather to persist ahead of a nice Sunday
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Temperatures are only around forty degrees in the town of Steamboat Springs and low twenties near the top of the Steamboat Resort under partly sunny skies this Thursday noon. Cooler air to our north will keep unsettled weather around through the first half of the weekend, with our best chance of showers from Friday afternoon through Saturday. But a break in the unsettled weather should bring mostly sunny skies and warmer temperatures for Closing Day on Sunday.
A ridge of high pressure currently extending northward from the Gulf of Alaska is flanked by a strong storm over the Aleutian Islands and a vortex of cold air over the Canadian Plains. A waves of cool air rotating around the backside of the Canadian vortex brought a cool front through our area last night with a half inch of snow reported at mid-mountain at the Steamboat Resort and two inches near the summit.
Though some clouds will remain, showers look to stay away from our area until tomorrow afternoon when another cool front approaches our area. We should see showery weather by midday Friday that will persist through some of Saturday, with the best chance of accumulating snowfall at the higher elevations Friday night. There could be some new snowfall by Saturday morning in the 1-4” range.
Temperatures in town may reach fifty degrees today, which is around five degrees below our average of 55 F, with a few degrees of warming on Friday and Saturday. But we should be around five degrees above average by Sunday as that Aleutian storm moves east and forces the Gulf of Alaska ridge overhead and the Canadian vortex of cold air toward the Northeast.
The unsettled weather should return early in the work week as the remnants of that Aleutian storm graze our area with another cool front on Monday, though any precipitation looks to be insignificant at this time.
Let’s hope we can eke out some additional snowfall on the hill early in the weekend, and be sure to enjoy what should be a very pleasant Closing Day at the Steamboat Resort. And be sure to check back to my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Sunday afternoon for more details on the weather for the coming work week.
Wintry weather to arrive later Monday
Sunday, April 14, 2024
Temperatures are in the fifties in the town of Steamboat Springs and the forties near the top of the Steamboat Resort under sparkling blue skies late this Sunday morning. After another gorgeous spring day today and a similar start to Monday, an approaching wintry storm will bring snows back to our area by Monday night with significant high-elevation accumulations expected by Tuesday. Cool and unsettled weather looks to last into the weekend as another cool storm impacts our area starting by Wednesday night.
A wintry storm in the form of an eddy is currently sliding down the southern California coast and is forecast to move across the Great Basin through Monday and Colorado Monday night. High temperatures today will likely be the warmest of the last several warm days with upper sixties predicted, which is almost fifteen degrees above our average of 54 F.
After another nice start to Monday, clouds will increase after noon ahead of the approaching storm with showers breaking out later in the day. Showers should become moderate to heavy overnight as the eddy passes near our area and intensifies to our east thanks to moisture incorporated from the Gulf of Mexico. Winds will shift from the south ahead of the storm to the northwest and north by Monday night behind the storm with moderate to heavy showers continuing through the morning as the Gulf of Mexico moisture wraps around the backside of the storm.
Snowfall rates over an inch per hour at times will make travel difficult over Rabbit Ears Pass between Monday night and Tuesday noon, with 4-8” of snow expected for the Monday morning mid-mountain ski report and another 3-6” between report time and Monday afternoon. The precipitation in town will be a mix of rain and snow, with the heavier showers leaving an inch or two in town by Tuesday morning with high temperatures struggling to reach fifty degrees.
We should see a break in the precipitation later Tuesday into Wednesday, though the clouds may stick around with high temperatures in town rising into the fifties. But another cold storm currently moving through the Gulf of Alaska is forecast to move through the Pacific Northwest and at least graze our area by later Wednesday or Thursday, with a stationary front possibly setting up over our area through the rest of the work week and into the Closing Weekend of the Steamboat Resort.
There is a fair bit of uncertainty with how strong this front is and how long it will reside near or over our area, but at least some additional snowfall is possible. So enjoy what looks like another powder day on Tuesday, and be sure to check back to my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Thursday afternoon for more details on the Closing Weekend weather.
Gorgeous weekend ahead
Thursday, April 11, 2024
Temperatures are near forty degrees in the town of Steamboat Springs and mid-twenties near the top of the Steamboat Resort under brilliant blue skies late this Thursday morning. And as springlike as today will be, even warmer temperatures and continued mostly sunny skies are on tap for a gorgeous weekend.
Before getting to what will be a rare-this-winter easy weather forecast, the mystery of the 10-meter vs. 12-meter wind discrepancy at the Storm Peak Lab last Saturday has been resolved. The lab director confirmed that rime ice formed on the lowest sensor leading to inaccurate wind speed and direction measurements.
There will be no chance of that happening again through the weekend as a ridge of high pressure brings mostly sunny skies and high temperatures in town in the sixties, about ten degrees above our rapidly rising average temperature of 54 F.
A weak and diffuse area of low pressure currently approaching southern California is forecast to scoot through the ridge of high pressure and bring some clouds overhead later Friday into Saturday morning. But that won’t affect the gorgeous spring weather arriving in time for all the events during the eariler-scheduled-and-now-delayed Closing Weekend at the Steamboat Resort.
Enjoy the spectacular weather through the weekend as it won’t last! It is springtime in the Rockies after all, which means our next storm is currently brewing in the Gulf of Alaska. Like some past storms, this one is forecast to slide southward along the West Coast early in the weekend and briefly form an eddy before moving toward our area early in the work week.
So be sure to check back to my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Sunday afternoon where I’ll have details on what may be a week of almost daily precipitation chances.
Temperatures to slowly warm this work week
Sunday, April 7, 2024
Temperatures are only in the mid-thirties in Steamboat Springs and low teens near the top of the Steamboat Resort this Sunday mid-afternoon, and despite some sunshine, brisk winds are making it feel like mid-winter rather than early spring. Temperatures will slowly warm each day through the work week with more sun than clouds except for midweek when a weak wave brings a chance for some showers. And thanks to the departing storm moving a bit further north than earlier forecast, there is a better chance for unobstructed viewing of the partial solar eclipse that will cover a maximum of 59% of the sun at 12:38 pm on Monday.
Before getting to the weather narrative, note that I have added another product to the SnowAlarm home page under the Local Temperatures, Winds & Precipitation heading in order to get a more accurate description of the winds near the top of the Steamboat Resort. I did this when trying to make sense of the wind speed and direction yesterday at the Storm Peak Lab, which is adjacent to the top terminal of the Morningside lift. As shown in the figure, I’ve added the wind speed and direction observed at the supplemental height of 12 meters below those observed at 10 meters, which is the standard measuring height for wind. I do not know why there was such a large discrepancy between those data yesterday, but the discontinuities in speed and direction are absent with the taller sensor.
Also, note how quickly we changed from spring to winter, with the temperature falling over thirty degrees between late Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, accompanied by snowfall rates as high as three inches per hour between 1:30 am and 5 am.
The storm responsible for that current winter blast is currently approaching the border between South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa while another much weaker storm dives south through Nevada toward the Desert Southwest. Cool air is forecast to only slowly moderate through the work week as our area is caught between the two storms and remains cut off from warmer air to our south.
After showers end later today, they look to be relegated to our north and south tomorrow, with a good chance that there will be unobstructed viewing of the partial solar eclipse, which peaks at 12:38 pm on Monday. Temperatures in town will warm to around forty degrees, which is quite cool and over ten degrees below our average of 52 F, but warmer than today!
Look for mid-forties on Tuesday under mostly sunny skies, with the warming interrupted on Wednesday as a weak cool front to our north brushes our area. High temperatures should be similar to Tuesday, along with some clouds and a chance of some showers at the higher elevations.
The warming reemerges on Thursday with mostly sunny skies and near-average high temperatures, with even warmer temperatures in the sixties advertised for Friday.
Enjoy the increasingly pleasant work week, and be sure to check back to my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Thursday afternoon where I’ll discuss what is looking like a rare nice start to our weekend with perhaps a wintry end.
