Beautiful and seasonable weekend ahead
Thursday, October 15, 2026
Temperatures have reached 50 degrees under mostly sunny skies late this Thursday afternoon in Steamboat Springs after several wet, stormy days, including significant high-elevation snowfall overnight. After a chilly Friday morning with low temperatures in the teens, the season’s coldest so far, mostly clear skies and temperatures warming into the seasonable low-60s are forecast for a beautiful weekend.
The wet weather came from the remnants of former Hurricane Rachel, steered overhead by a cold Northern Pacific storm, which eventually brought our upper-elevation snowfall. Mid-mountain received 5” of snow from late Wednesday afternoon through this morning, with 8” recorded at the top.
Snow levels fell to 8,000′, with even some snowflakes in town late yesterday afternoon and again early this morning.
Precipitation since last Saturday was impressive, with about 0.4” during that day, 0.3” on both Monday and Tuesday, and as much as an inch yesterday, bringing about 2” of beneficial moisture, just shy of the 2.2” monthly average.
But we are drying out through the weekend and into next week as a ridge of high pressure builds and moves over the West behind the departing storm and ahead of a cold storm developing in the Gulf of Alaska. And with clearing skies behind a cold storm, expect temperatures to plummet tonight to the coldest of the season so far, reaching the teens, well below the 26-degree average.
High temperatures will warm to around our average of 59 degrees on Friday despite the cold start, and reach the low 60s for a beautiful weekend under mostly sunny skies. Low temperatures will also rise into the mid-to-upper 20s on Saturday morning and the low 30s on Sunday morning.
The beautiful weather will extend into the next workweek as the intensifying Gulf of Alaska storm is deflected to our north by the western ridge of high pressure. However, the remnants of former Typhoon Koguma, now south of the Aleutian Islands and expected to ingest cold air traveling south across Alaska, are forecast to form another elongated trough of low pressure off the West Coast by Tuesday, similar to this past storm.
Longer-range weather forecast models have the southern part of the storm forming an eddy around California, traversing the Great Basin through midweek, and possibly affecting our area just after midweek. So enjoy the gorgeous weekend ahead, and I’ll have more details about the incoming storm in my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Sunday afternoon.
Storm to bring the first snow to the Steamboat Ski Resort by midweek
Sunday, October 11, 2026
Steamboat Springs is drying out this Sunday at noon after receiving as much as a half inch of rain on Saturday ahead of an approaching storm. Showers later today and Columbus Day will pick up on Tuesday as a Pacific Northwest storm approaches, bringing the season’s first snowfall to the Steamboat Ski Resort starting Tuesday night. Cold temperatures in town with highs in the 50s and lows below freezing will accompany the storm’s cold front, with precipitation on Wednesday clearing by Thursday. Warming temperatures and mostly sunny skies will end the workweek and persist through the weekend and into the following workweek.
A cold, elongated trough of low pressure extending southwestward from the Pacific Northwest has captured the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel, with eastern Nevada and western Utah forecast to receive the best precipitation through tonight.
Southwest winds ahead of the storm carried some moisture from Rachel overhead on Saturday, with some temporary drying through mid-afternoon today before showers pick up again tonight. High temperatures will be about 70 degrees today, above the 61-degree average, with gusty southerly winds. Columbus Day will see possible showers throughout the day, with highs in the low-to-mid 60s, as the trough of low pressure evolves into an eddy and travels through the Great Basin beginning Monday night.
Shower chances increase on Tuesday and become likely by Tuesday night as the Great Basin eddy reaches the western Colorado border, bringing a cold front through our area. Snow levels will fall from about 10,000′ to 9000′ from Tuesday night through Wednesday, when we should see the bulk of the precipitation. Snow above as low as 8,500′ and rain below will transition to showers and continue into Thursday morning in the favorable cool, moist, unstable northwest flow behind the storm, with 3-6” of snow possible above mid-mountain. Be sure to keep an eye on the Steamboat Powdercam during the storm as the season’s first snowfall accumulates!
High temperatures in town may struggle to reach 50 degrees on a raw, rainy Wednesday, with highs in the mid-50s on a clearing Thursday, and lows in town falling below freezing for the first time this season. Even colder lows in the mid-20s are likely Friday morning as the clear skies behind the storm allow for efficient nighttime cooling.
Temperatures warm into the 60s under mostly sunny skies to end the workweek as a ridge of high pressure moves over the West ahead of a developing storm in the Gulf of Alaska. So enjoy the nice afternoon today, brace for the midweek storm, and look forward to a picturesque, snow-capped Mt. Werner on Thursday. I’ll have more details on the likely pleasant weekend in my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Thursday afternoon.
Pattern change with active weather to start Saturday
Thursday, October 8, 2026
Temperatures are in the mid-70s, well above our 63-degree average, under mostly sunny skies this Thursday mid-afternoon in Steamboat Springs. Another summery day on Friday will precede an active weather pattern starting Saturday due to a Gulf of Alaska storm interacting with not one, but two tropical disturbances over the next week. While we will see cooling temperatures with showery periods through the weekend, the heavier precipitation does not arrive until after, with the season’s first snowfall likely at the Steamboat Ski Resort by midweek.
A trough of low pressure that extended south from the Aleutian Islands yesterday has split, with the northern part of the split traveling across the Gulf of Alaska. The storm will intensify on Friday as it ingests cold air from eastern Alaska and western Canada, elongating southward along the West Coast on Saturday before it absorbs former Hurricane Rachel, now well west of the Baja Peninsula.
While the complex storm is forecast to continue elongating southward along the West Coast through Columbus Day, increasing southwest winds ahead of the storm will carry some energy overhead by Saturday, leading to a chance of showers during the day. Showers will intensify overnight as moisture from Rachel is carried over Arizona, Utah, and Colorado.
The best moisture will be to our west on Sunday as the remnants of Rachel are carried over Nevada and Utah, but shower chances will remain over our area, with high temperatures cooling from a 70-degree Saturday into the mid-60s.
The storm is forecast to form an eddy by Columbus Day just off the southern California coast and move eastward across the Great Basin on Tuesday. Some dry air is now forecast to be carried over our area ahead of the eddy, perhaps providing a break in the showers Monday and possibly Tuesday.
Additionally, Tropical Storm Simon, now well south of the Baja Peninsula and soon to strengthen into a hurricane, will move slowly northward through the weekend. It may be close enough to be ingested into the complex storm by midweek, though current forecasts have it affecting areas to our south and east by midweek.
Finally, the incoming eddy will be cold: cold enough for accumulating snow at the Steamboat Ski Resort on Wednesday, and possibly some snowflakes in town by Thursday. But lots of moving pieces before the season’s first snowfall can be predicted with certainty, so enjoy what is left of our summery weather, and I’ll have more details on the mercurial incoming storm in my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Sunday afternoon.
Small chance of showers to briefly interrupt more summery weather
Sunday, October 4, 2026
Temperatures are already near 70 degrees under sunny skies in Steamboat Springs on this Sunday at noon. Other than a brief increase in cloudiness early in the workweek, with a small chance of a shower, our summery stretch of weather will continue into next weekend. Soak up the summery weather now, however, as an abrupt change to more seasonable weather may occur soon after.
The fall color spectacle has been great this year, despite its late arrival and the warnings of dull color. Leaves above 9.000′ are falling as the color migrates to the lower elevations.
A ridge of high pressure over the West is responsible for this stretch of spectacular weather. A weak area of low pressure approaching the central California coast is forecast to cross the Great Basin through Tuesday, though the clouds and only a slight chance of a shower will not keep high temperatures from the mid-70s, above our 65-degree average.
Differences between some of the short-range models mean clouds may arrive as soon as late Monday, with clearing afterwards, or as late as late Tuesday, lasting into Wednesday, with the later arrival perhaps accompanied by a slight chance of a shower.
Otherwise, mostly sunny skies return for the rest of the workweek, with the beautiful weather extending into at least the start of next weekend. However, changes occurring in the Eastern Pacific this week portend changes occurring over our area by mid-weekend, or early the following workweek.
A wave in the jet stream ahead of the northeastward-moving Super Typhoon Choi-Wan off the southeast coast of Japan will strengthen as cold Arctic air pours through the Bering Straight. The wave will elongate and split near the Dateline by midweek, move through the Gulf of Alaska, and approach the Pacific Northwest coast by early in the weekend. Additionally, Hurricane Rachel, southwest of Baja, may also interact with the incoming storm after it crosses the Pacific Northwest coast.
While the ridge of high pressure over the West will offer some resistance, the incoming storm will eventually win, bringing below-average temperatures and a chance of the season’s first snowfall above mid-mountain at the Steamboat Ski Resort. Lots of moving pieces need to interact before any certainty can be added to the forecast, which I hope to have in time for my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Thursday afternoon.
Until then, get outside and enjoy the certainty of another summery week, accompanied by the bedazzling fall color spectacle.
Gorgeous weekend ahead
Thursday, October 1, 2026
Temperatures in the low 70s and mostly sunny skies are over Steamboat Springs this Thursday mid-afternoon. The lovely weather will continue through the weekend, lasting through at least Monday.
High pressure over California will move slowly east through the weekend, crossing the Continental Divide around Monday. Mostly sunny skies will bring warming temperatures through the weekend, cresting 75 degrees by Sunday, around 10 degrees above our declining 65-degree average.
The NOAA smoke model shows wildfire smoke from the Dome fire near Yosemite, which started September 15th, approaching our area by Saturday morning, with hazy skies possible, but not certain.
| Steamboat Springs 2026 | Observed precipitation | Average precipitation |
|---|---|---|
| May | 3.51” | 2.65” |
| June | 0.43” | 1.58” |
| July | 2.24” | 1.72” |
| August | 2.77” | 1.80” |
| September | 3.07” | 2.32” |
| Total | 12.02” | 10.07” |
The quiet forecast allows some space to discuss the relatively wet summer from May through September, though most people I talk to are surprised to hear we were not well below average, as they remember the July and August heat more than the precipitation. And hot it was, with the 29 days of 90-degree-or-above temperatures this summer tying the record set in 2002.
July had 17 days at or above 90 degrees, including a scorching stretch of 11 days between July 11th and July 21st, contributing to the hottest month ever since record-keeping started in 1893, and an additional 12 days in August. But that did not stop some showers, some intense and some more gentle and long-lasting, from bringing a foot of water from May through September to the town, 20% above the 10” average, as indicated in the table.
October will start warm and dry, with a small chance of some showers appearing around Tuesday. So enjoy the gorgeous weekend, highlighted by the stunning colors of the changing foliage, and I’ll have more details on the possible incoming storm and the likely return to dry, warm weather for the rest of the workweek, which may last through the following weekend.
