Moisture returns for the next work week
Friday, September 9, 2016
While one trough of low pressure to our north drags a dry cool front through the region today and tonight, another trough crosses the Pacific Northwest coast on Sunday and splits, with the southern portion closing off and taking up residence in the Great Basin for the upcoming work week.
The weekend will be sandwiched between these troughs and feature beautiful warm sunny days and quite cool nights with outdoor plants likely needing help to make it through the around-freezing temperatures on Saturday morning.
The southern portion of the split will force our winds to back from the current northwest to southwest by Sunday night, allowing a tap of subtropical moisture to flow over Colorado. A cool front associated with the passing northern part of the split on Monday will likely enhance showers by the afternoon that may extend into the evening as it swings through the area.
Though the heaviest showers will pass as the northern part of the split moves east of the area on Monday, the lumbering Great Basin low will allow moisture to remain over our area, continuing the chance of afternoon showers through most of the work week.
Beautiful late summer weather on tap for most of the next week
Monday, September 5, 2016
Cool nights and warm mostly sunny days will be the rule through the work week and lasting for most of next weekend. A trough to our west in the Great Basin will remain quasi-stationary for the beginning of this period, occasionally ejecting waves of energy that will drag shallow and dry cool fronts through or just north of the Steamboat Springs area. The strong early September sun will allow temperatures to quickly recover from the cool mornings.
The Great Basin trough will be ejected to our north by a couple of Pacific waves late in work week, with the second wave looking to deepen as it approaches our area late in the weekend. There may be some moisture that is drawn northward in the southwest flow ahead of the storm around Sunday with a well defined cold front currently advertised for Monday. The timing and strength of the front will no doubt change as the models get a better handle on the storm, but at this point the American GFS says it may be cold enough for some snow at the top of Mt. Werner.
Wet start to the Labor Day weekend turns dry and seasonably cool
Thursday, September 1, 2016
A persistent and large Pacific Northwest trough will affect our weather for the next week as it is reinforced by cool air traveling southward from the North Pole. Southwest flow ahead of the trough has picked up a shortwave currently producing showers in northern Arizona, and the short range HRRR model has rain reaching our area before sunrise Friday.
There will be a break in the rain after it ends Friday morning, but the wetter AVN model has another round of afternoon storms as another ill-defined wave moves near the Steamboat Springs area. Curiously, the NAM is dry so that discrepancy lowers forecast confidence.
Though some drier air works into the area on Saturday, there will be enough moisture for another round of afternoon storms, some possibly strong.
By Sunday, much drier air ahead of the advancing trough, forecast to take up residence in the Great Basin for the week, will move overhead and likely produce some spectacularly nice weather for the remainder of the long Labor Day weekend.
Though dry, some cool air from the Great Basin trough will be dragged over our early by Monday by ejecting energy traveling west and then north of our area. The combination of seasonably cool temperatures and a very dry atmosphere will keep morning lows chilly and tender plants in low-lying areas may require some protection.
Cool air continues to pour into the Great Basin trough through the week keeping it quasi-stationary. It appears we will be on the boundary between dry and moist air, with some moisture possibly returning for a brief spell on Tuesday to fuel a slight chance of afternoon storms. Otherwise, seasonably cool temperatures with cool mornings look to persist for the rest of the work week before the Great Basin trough is kicked eastward by another Pacific storm that may threaten next weekend’s weather.
Storms stay mostly south until moisture returns for the end of work week
Monday, August 29, 2016
A series of Pacific Northwest storms will move a building western ridge eastward through this week as energy from the storms moves generally northeastward from Oregon and Washington through the Canadian Rockies. As was the case last week, the best moisture in Colorado looks to say south of the Steamboat Springs area early this week and any storms that do develop will likely have more wind than rain as the lower atmosphere stays relatively dry.
Forecasts have the Pacific Northwest storm consolidating through the week, eventually forming a large trough of low pressure that moves ashore around Thursday. Winds over our area will increase from the southwest as the storm moves closer and deeper moisture will be pulled over our area starting Thursday. Hard to define waves in the southwest flow may provide enough forcing to allow for afternoon and possibly evening storms to form for Thursday and Friday before the moisture plume is shunted to the east for Labor Day weekend.
Currently, it looks like there may be enough moisture around for Saturday and Sunday for a small chance of afternoon storms in seasonably cool temperatures, while Labor Day looks dry and continued cool as a tongue of much drier air invades behind the main storm that is forecast to be over Montana then.
Additional trailing energy will force some sort of cool front through the area around next Tuesday possibly allowing for a cool day with showers depending upon the strength of the front.
Drier from mid-weekend into next week
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Even though rains have stayed mostly to the south as discussed in the last forecast, we will have another chance of showers this evening as a a wave moves though central Colorado and another chance Friday afternoon and evening as the southern end of a trough traveling across Montana swings through the Steamboat Springs area.
Drier air works into our area by Saturday afternoon, though there will still be a chance of afternoon storms as stronger surface heating cooks the remaining moisture.
A series of Pacific Northwest storms will keep mostly dry and light southwest flow over our area for Sunday and extending into midweek before a larger storm takes up residence off the coast of Washington and Oregon by the end of the week. Though we are right on the boundary, deeper moisture from the southwest may be able to travel over our area by midweek and possibly into the Labor Day weekend, increasing the chance of wetting rains.
Longer range models do indicate the trough will eventually make landfall around or soon after Labor Day and that may allow for our best chance of precipitation as it approaches and eventually moves though Colorado.
