Summery weather turns wintry for the weekend
Thursday, April 21, 2022
The thermometer has cracked the vaunted seventy degree mark in the Steamboat Springs area this Thursday mid-afternoon under sunny skies with breezy winds from the southwest. Enjoy the summery weather now as a strong wintry storm will affect our area from Friday afternoon through the weekend, which is great news for our below-average snowpack.
A strong storm currently pounding the Sierras with wind and snow is forecast to move through the Great Basin on Friday and turn northeast before bringing blizzard conditions to the northern High Plains on Saturday. Winds will stay breezy from the southwest ahead of the storm through some of Friday afternoon at which point a strong cold front will bring rapidly falling temperatures and precipitation to our area. High temperatures will likely make it to five to ten degrees above our average of 55 F by early afternoon before rain showers at lower elevations and snow showers at higher elevations start by late afternoon or evening.
Snow showers could be moderate to heavy at times thanks to the unstable atmosphere, and snowfall rates over an inch per hour are possible, making travel difficult at times over Rabbit Ears Pass. And at some point overnight, any liquid precipitation in town should turn over to snow.
Winds and snow look to decrease during some of the overnight as the center of the storm passes just to our north, but are forecast to substantially increase again as the storm intensifies to our northeast. Winds over our area will then turn to be from our favorable northwest direction on the backside of the storm, and will combine with a moist and unstable air mass to bring good snowfall to all elevations during the day Saturday and most of the night, with continued difficult driving conditions over Rabbit Ears Pass.
After seeing high temperatures in the seventies today, Saturday will be quite the shock with snow on the ground and temperatures likely mired in the thirties! And like the last storm, snow accumulations will increase with elevation, with 6-12” of snowfall at mid-mountain possible between Friday evening and Sunday morning and 10-20” up top, with even town receiving another round of accumulating spring snow.
Snowfall looks to decrease but likely not stop Sunday morning, especially at the higher elevations, before trailing energy increases the intensity of the snow showers again by Sunday afternoon. Several more inches may accumulate at mid-mountain through the day and evening, with high temperatures in town barely breaching forty degrees.
The storm should be mostly over for our area by Sunday night, even as the work week starts cool thanks to the unseasonably cold air mass left behind by the departing storm. Enjoy the summery weather through early Friday afternoon, and stay tuned to my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Sunday afternoon where I’ll have some storm totals and discuss what is looking like a very nice work week.
Springtime returns for some of the work week
Sunday, April 17, 2022
A mix of rain and snow is over the town of Steamboat Springs this Sunday morning as temperatures hover near freezing. Unsettled and cool weather will linger through today before sunny skies and springtime temperatures return to start the work week. A grazing cold front will bring increasing precipitation chances from Tuesday night into Wednesday morning before skies clear later on a cooler day. A beautiful Thursday looks to be followed by another significant wintry storm as we head into the weekend.
A quick-moving and mild disturbance passed overhead last night, starting precipitation in town as rain before some snow fell this Easter morning with accumulations limited to grassy areas. But colder temperatures at the higher elevations has allowed 3” of accumulation on the Mid-mountain Powdercam and 5” on the Sunshine Peak Powdercam by 9 am this morning. Moist and unstable flow from our favorable northwest direction will keep the cool and unsettled weather going today, with rain showers at the lower elevations and a couple more inches of snow possible at the higher elevations through the afternoon.
But springtime weather returns in force on Monday and Tuesday, with sunny skies and high temperatures reaching the sixties, which is between five and ten degrees above our average of 54 F. A quick-moving storm from the west will increase precipitation chances Tuesday night, with up to several inches possible at mid-mountain by Wednesday morning and snowflakes possible in town, with any accumulations confined to grassy areas. And even though the day starts cool, we should be able to reach near average high temperatures as we see some strong April sun.
Thursday will be a warm and beautiful springtime day before another round of wintry weather starts around the end of the work week. The remnant of former typhoon Malakas is currently well east of Japan, and is forecast to mix with a storm currently evolving in the Bering Sea before crossing the West Coast late in the work week. There is a fair bit of weather forecast model uncertainty regarding the speed and strength of the resultant wintry storm, and how its pieces will eventually move across our area.
It appears we will see at least two days of wintry weather with significant precipitation likely, though it is unclear if it arrives on Friday or Saturday, with the American model currently more eager than the European model. Stay tuned to my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Thursday afternoon where I’ll have more details on our next chance to add to our snowpack.
Unsettled weather persists through the weekend
Friday, April 15, 2022
A mixture of sun and clouds with breezy winds and temperatures in the upper forties are over the Steamboat Springs area this Friday mid-afternoon. Behind a disorganized weather disturbance that has stayed mostly to our north today, there may be some sun on Saturday with temperatures in the fifties. However, clouds will thicken and lower later in the day ahead of small storm that starts Saturday night and lingers through Sunday. After the past week of inclement weather, nice springtime weather is advertised to start the work week.
Persistent areas of low pressure over the Pacific Northwest and the upper Midwest have kept the jet stream overhead this week, leading to the windy conditions. Additionally, energy ejecting out of the Pacific Northwest has lead to our week of inclement weather, with impressive late-season snow totals reported at the Steamboat Ski Resort. Despite the pleas from the snow gods and the public to extend the ski season, the 16.5” at mid-mountain and 29” up top between Monday afternoon and Thursday morning has sat mostly undisturbed since Closing Day last Sunday.
An inconsequential storm has stayed mostly to our north today, precluding much, if any, precipitation. But another storm currently moving through the Gulf of Alaska will help dislodge the area of low pressure over the Pacific Northwest and then move over our area from Saturday night through Sunday. Winds will turn to be from the west to our favorable direction from the northwest, and I would expect 2-5” at mid-mountain between Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, with more likely at higher elevations.
The work week looks to start nice as a ridge of high pressure builds over the West ahead of what looks like a grazing storm for midweek that is currently part of a storm in the Bering Sea. But far more interesting will be the progression of Typhoon Malakas which is currently near Japan and is the first named storm and first typhoon of the year in the West Pacific. Unbelievably, there is reasonable weather forecast model agreement that the decaying typhoon will interact with what is left of the Bering Sea storm as it crosses the Pacific during the work week and bring another round of wintry weather to parts of the West sometime around next weekend.
So stay tuned to my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Sunday afternoon where I should have better ideas about the impacts of that grazing midweek storm and the possibility of wintry weather around next weekend.
Thursday afternoon forecast coming Friday
Thursday, April 14, 2022
Just a quick note that I’ve seem to run out of time today, so the full weather forecast will be issued on Friday, including some storm totals from this week’s storm. In the meantime, expect a quick moving storm to bring 1-4” of snow during Friday morning and afternoon to mid-mountain, along with more winds from the west. Saturday should be the most spring feeling day since last Monday, but another slightly stronger storm follows for Saturday night with showers tapering off during the day Sunday.
Wintry storm set to pummel Steamboat
Monday, April 11, 2022
Current temperatures are in the upper forties in the town of Steamboat Springs and around thirty degrees at the top of the now-closed Steamboat Ski Resort under cloudy skies this Monday mid-afternoon. After a Closing Day powder day yesterday, more wintry weather is on our doorstep, with heavy snowfall rates, blowing snow and plummeting temperatures starting tonight. The most inclement weather is expected tonight and tomorrow morning, though cold and snowy weather will persist into Thursday. We may then see a break in the precipitation before additional energy and moisture bring the possibility of unsettled weather back for the end of the work week.
A potent wintry storm is currently hammering the Pacific Northwest and is forecast to quickly move through the Intermountain West today before bringing a strong cold front through our area after midnight, with windy conditions preceding the storm. We may see light showers ahead of the cold front, with precipitation being liquid at the lower elevations, but the wintry weather should arrive in an impressive manner midway between midnight tonight and sunrise Tuesday.
Winds first from the south and then the southwest will be increasing ahead of the cold front, with gusts above 60 mph possible by midnight. Luckily the winds should die down a bit as the snow picks up, with rates as high as 2 inches per hour at times leading to difficult or even impossible travel over Rabbit Ears Pass tonight. Snowfall rates might decrease, but may still be heavy at almost an inch per hour through noon before snowfall markedly diminishes in the afternoon as the winds return, with gusts as high as 50 mph possible Tuesday afternoon.
Snowfall at mid-mountain might be in the 4-8” range by what would have been the 5 am Tuesday morning report, with another 4-8” during the day and several more inches overnight, for a 10-20” ongoing storm total by Wednesday morning.
Temperatures are going to be frigid, with high temperatures in town likely mired in the twenties on both Tuesday and Wednesday, which is over twenty degrees below our average of 51 F! And temperatures at the summit of the Steamboat Ski Resort look to similarly reflect a mid-winter day and top out in the low teens.
Snow showers will persist on Wednesday, though at more modest rates than experienced the day before. And there is a trailing bit of energy that is forecast to pass over later Wednesday, so we could see another 2-5” by Thursday morning at mid-mountain. The town of Steamboat Springs will not escape the snowfall after the cold front, with storm total accumulations between Monday night and Thursday morning in 5-10” range.
The weather should quiet down on Thursday, with weather forecast models disagreeing on the possibility of unsettled weather to close out the work week. So stay tuned to my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Thursday afternoon where I’ll recap the storm totals and discuss the weather for the upcoming weekend.
