Wet and cool weather from Monday night into Wednesday
Sunday, May 3, 2026
The mostly sunny skies from this Sunday morning in Steamboat Springs have given way to some clouds in advance of our next storm, with temperatures in the mid-sixties this mid-afternoon. Shower chances emerge Monday afternoon, with likely precipitation from Monday night into Wednesday morning, leaving significant snowfall at high elevations. Town will not escape the frozen precipitation, with some snowflakes on Tuesday and minor accumulations by Wednesday morning.
An eddy of low pressure currently off the coast of central California, downstream of a ridge of high pressure over the Gulf of Alaska, will be forced eastward by a wave of cold air and energy rounding the top of the ridge. This wave is ingesting cold air from the almost ever-present this-winter Hudson Bay vortex of low pressure as it moves southward across western Canada today, Montana tonight, and Wyoming on Monday.
Meanwhile, the California eddy will first stretch eastward on Monday as a wave of energy ejects from the storm and moves across the Great Basin, beginning shower chances by Monday afternoon when it reaches our area. Additionally, cool air from the northern storm will seep into our area Monday night, interacting with energy ejecting from the eddy and bringing likely precipitation, with snow levels lowering from 10,000′ Monday afternoon to 8,500′ by Tuesday morning. Storm cells may be strong enough to allow snowflakes to reach the Yampa Valley floor.
Precipitation will continue on Tuesday, similar to the storm last week, with high temperatures only reaching the low fifties, almost 10 degrees below our average of 61 degrees. The main cold front is forecast to pass through Tuesday night, crashing snow levels to under 6,000′ and allowing several inches of snow to accumulate in town by Wednesday morning.
All told, we could see around three-quarters of an inch of liquid-equivalent precipitation in town by noon on Wednesday, with twice that at the top ot the Steamboat Ski Resort and as much as 10” of snow. And, similar to the last storm, expect clearing skies by Wednesday afternoon, with temperatures in town struggling to reach 50 degrees.
By Thursday, the ridge over the Gulf of Alaska is forecast to weaken and move over the West Coast, allowing temperatures to rebound to around average. However, more Pacific energy moving over the top of the ridge may bring a chance of showers by Thursday afternoon, with another wave possibly bringing similar weather on Friday.
So take advantage of the rapidly drying hiking and biking trails for today and at least part of tomorrow, look forward to another round of significant precipitation, and I’ll have more details on a weekend that may or may not be dry in my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Thursday afternoon.
Nice weekend with warming temperatures to precede more precipitation next week
Thursday, April 30, 2026
Temperatures are in the mid-forties this mid-afternoon in Steamboat Springs after reaching 50 degrees around 1 pm. The storm that left 0.84” of precipitation in town, including 2” of snow, three graupel showers, and 13” at mid-mountain at the Steamboat Ski Resort, is grudgingly leaving the area, ahead of mostly sunny skies to start the weekend and warming temperatures.
A final piece of energy that moved over the top of a ridge of high pressure just east of the Gulf of Alaska has kept the southwestern end of a trough of low pressure lingering over the West. This wave is splitting as it moves overhead, with the eastern part of the split leading to one more day of unsettled weather over our area today, and the western part eventually interacting with an eddy of low pressure moving eastward across northern Baja.
The western part of the split will rotate southwards across Utah and Nevada on Friday, forcing the Baja eddy eastward across the Mexican border and keeping the weather to our south, more similar to the American GFS forecast rather than the European ECMWS forecast, as discussed in my last weather narrative.
Meanwhile, a storm upstream of the ridge is forecast to develop in the Gulf of Alaska, move southward along the West Coast through the weekend, and form an eddy of low pressure. As our current storm moves eastward, a transient ridge of high pressure will begin to form over the West ahead of the West Coast storm, bringing mostly sunny skies on Friday despite the cool air left behind our current storm. High temperatures will warm to the high fifties, just below our 60-degree average.
Continued mostly sunny skies are advertised for a very pleasant Saturday, with temperatures warming toward the mid-sixties. While Sunday will start mostly sunny, with even warmer high temperatures in the upper sixties, the West Coast eddy is forecast to elongate eastward, first bringing mid- and high-level clouds overhead by later Sunday, followed by a good chance of precipitation on Monday.
The unsettled weather may last through much of the next workweek as the eddy weakens and lumbers across the West. So enjoy a pleasant weekend, and I’ll have more details about the workweek in my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Sunday afternoon.
Showers to continue through Tuesday ahead of a midweek break
Sunday, April 26, 2026
A round of rain showers is passing through Steamboat Springs early this Sunday afternoon, just after temperatures reached 50 degrees, with snow showers at and above mid-mountain at the Steamboat Ski Resort. The unsettled weather will continue through Tuesday, leaving significant precipitation ahead of a Wednesday break. More showers are forecast for Thursday, with another break advertised for Friday and lasting into next weekend.
After waiting all winter, a trough of low pressure extending from the Canadian Plains to southern California is downstream of a ridge of high pressure over the Gulf of Alaska. Waves of energy moving across the northern Pacific have traveled over the top of the ridge, ingesting cool air from western Canada as they move down the backside of the trough.
Two strong waves will move through our area through Tuesday, with the first wave now in southern Utah forecast to move across Colorado tonight. Rain showers will continue through tonight, with snow levels dropping to around 7,500′; low enough to see some snowflakes in town by Monday morning.
The second wave, now moving through northern California, will round the base of the trough Monday night, allowing showers to continue on Monday as it approaches our area. Snow levels will rise during the day before falling to around 7,000′ by Tuesday morning behind the wave, perhaps leaving some minor snowfall accumulations in town.
A weaker third wave will move through later Tuesday, keeping showers around through the day before at least a short break on Wednesday. We could see around a foot of snow at high elevations by Tuesday night, with around three-quarters of an inch of rain in town.
By later Wednesday, the northern part of the trough is forecast to rotate into Ontario, even as additional energy moving over the top of the Gulf of Alaska ridge keeps the southern end of the trough anchored over the West. However, this next piece of energy splits as it moves across Idaho on Wednesday night, with the southern end moving across Nevada on Thursday and the northern end bringing another round of showers later Wednesday and Thursday.
Weather forecast models agree that some of the splitting energy to our west will interact with an eddy of low pressure off the southern California coast, eventually moving across the Desert Southwest on Friday. However, they disagree on the northern extent of the weather, with the American GFS keeping the storm farther south and our area shower-free for Friday, and the European ECMWF farther north.
Next weekend is looking far less active, but only briefly, as an incoming Pacific storm looks to bring unsettled weather back into our area by late in the weekend or early the following workweek. So welcome the moisture to start the workweek, and I’ll have more details about the weekend in my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Thursday afternoon.
Weekend to start nice start but end with significant precipitation
Thursday, April 23, 2026
Mostly cloudy skies with temperatures approaching the mid-forties, on their way toward 50 degrees, are over Steamboat Springs at noon on this Thursday after a cool front last night. Temperatures will rebound, and skies will clear on a mostly sunny Friday, with some sun possible on Saturday, ahead of good precipitation chances for Sunday.
We are just south of a wintry storm centered over the northern Rockies, which is downstream of a ridge of high pressure over the Gulf of Alaska. Southwesterly winds as high as 40 mph at the Bob Adams Airport and 50 mph at the top of the Steamboat Ski Resort preceded the cool front yesterday, which moved through late in the afternoon.
The storm’s center is forecast to wobble over southern Alberta and Saskatchewan through the weekend as a wave of energy moves over the top of the Gulf of Alaska ridge, elongating the storm toward the southwest across the Pacific Northwest and northern California.
Meanwhile, two areas of low pressure undercutting the Gulf of Alaska ridge and moving eastward will be drawn into the southwestern end of the Canadian storm, the first bringing clouds by Friday night after a mostly sunny day with high temperatures just above our average of 57 degrees.
We may see some periods of sun behind the departing wave centered around noon on Saturday, before clouds increase again ahead of the stronger, wetter wave for Sunday, even as temperatures warm a few degrees from Friday.
Depending upon the speed of this second wave as it slingshots around the main storm, showers could start as early as Saturday night or as late as noon on Sunday. More persistent precipitation will follow Sunday afternoon, continuing through the night, with snow levels above 8,500′ early in the day, falling to around 7,500′ by Monday morning.
Another wave of energy moving down the west side of the Canadian storm on Monday will reinforce its southwesterly elongation, possibly grabbing some moisture left behind by the Sunday wave and continuing showers on Monday.
We could see around a foot of snow at the higher elevations and between a half inch and three-quarters of an inch of rain at the lower elevations by Monday evening. After a short break on Tuesday and at least part of Wednesday, we may see additional precipitation from the southern end of the Canadian storm, forecast to wobble into Manitoba by midweek.
So enjoy the nice start to the weekend, look forward to the coming, desperately needed moisture, and I’ll have more details on the evolving precipitation chances for the following workweek in my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Sunday afternoon.
Beautiful workweek start to precede a midweek pattern change
Sunday, April 19, 2026
A gorgeous day is over Steamboat Springs this Sunday mid-afternoon with sunny skies and temperatures around 60 degrees. Beautiful weather with even warmer temperatures will persist through Tuesday before winds pick up on a still-warm Wednesday ahead of a pattern change bringing cooler, unsettled weather that may hang around for a while.
After a wintry Friday brought around 5” of snow to mid-mountain and 9” up top, with a couple of inches in town, and a bright but cool Saturday, temperatures have warmed today above our average of 56 degrees under a ridge of high pressure over the West.
The ridge, downstream of a large eddy of low pressure moving southward along the West Coast, will persist over our area into midweek as the eddy eventually moves eastward across the central California coast on Tuesday.
Temperatures under mostly sunny skies will warm toward 70 degrees on Monday and perhaps the mid-seventies on Tuesday, well above our 56-degree average. The eddy is forecast to move across the Great Basin on Wednesday and ingest cold air moving southward from western Canada, bringing increasing clouds and winds by Wednesday afternoon, high temperatures in the sixties, and a cool front late in the afternoon or early in the evening.
Cooler temperatures and unsettled weather will follow, lasting through the weekend and into at least next week, perhaps even into the first part of May. However, the details are very uncertain as the leading part of the eddy is partially deflected to our north by our early-workweek ridge of high pressure, which will have been pushed to the Midwest, even as more cold air from western Canada reinvigorates the western part of the lingering eddy over Nevada.
This creates a general trough of low pressure over the West (finally!), allowing for cool weather and periods of precipitation, with snow levels dipping to town-level overnight and rising to around 8,000′ during the day.
Right now, the precipitation looks to start on the showery side, with weather forecast models disagreeing if more persistent precipitation arrives for the weekend’s start, like the American GFS, or closer to the weekend’s end, like the European ECMWF. So enjoy the gorgeous start to the workweek, and I’ll have more details on the cooler and unsettled weather that follows in my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Thursday afternoon.
