Workweek to start hot ahead of good shower chances on Thursday
Sunday, June 23, 2024
Temperatures are in the low eighties, on their way toward the mid-eighties, under mostly sunny skies early this Sunday afternoon in Steamboat Springs. There may be a passing shower today, with a better chance on Monday, as hot temperatures persist through midweek. After a dry Tuesday, shower chances start to ramp up later in the day on a still-hot Wednesday and are maximized on a cooler Thursday.
A stout ridge of high pressure over the southern two-thirds of the country is centered over the central and southern Rockies while a trough of low pressure over Vancouver is moving east. We should see high temperatures in the mid-eighties today, over five degrees above our average of 78 F, with a chance of a passing shower bringing localized brief heavy rain, small hail and gusty winds.
A degree or two of warming is expected on Monday with a better chance of afternoon and evening showers as a disturbance rotates around the high pressure cell over our area and possibly combines with the southern end of the Vancouver storm then moving through the southern Canadian Plains.
Meanshile, a storm currently over the Aleutian Islands is forecast to strengthen in the Gulf of Alaska through Tuesday and strengthen the ridge of high pressure over the Rockies. So look for another degree or two of warming on Tuesday with near-nil shower chances.
The Gulf of Alaska storm is forecast to cross the Pacific Northwest coast on Wednesday and nudge the Rocky Mountain ridge eastward. Winds from the south on the backside of the high pressure cell will carry moisture pooled over the Mexican Plateau, partly left behind by Tropical Storm Alberto last week, over our area by Wednesday afternoon.
While this pattern contains elements of the North American Monsoon, mainly moisture moving northward around a ridge of high pressure to our east, it is only expected to last through Thursday before the Pacific Northwest storm sweeps through the northern Rockies and brings drier and cooler air for Friday.
So look for increasing shower chances starting in the still-hot Wednesday afternoon, with some showers possibly persisting through the night. Better shower chances are forecast on Thursday as moisture from the south is maximized, dropping our high temperature to an average of 80 F, or even a few degrees cooler depending upon cloud cover.
So, enjoy the hot summertime weather to start the workweek while looking forward to the cooler and wetter weather to end the workweek, and check back for the weekend update in my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Thursday afternoon.
Rains likely through Friday ahead of a pleasant summertime weekend
Thursday, June 20, 2024
After reaching the high temperature of 82 F early this Thursday afternoon in Steamboat Springs, thunderstorms have dropped temperatures into the sixties by 3 pm. Showers will continue through this evening before re-emerging possibly stronger on Friday as a weak cool front moves through our area. Pleasant weather returns for the weekend with the usual summertime afternoon showers and high temperatures in the mid-eighties by Sunday.
An eastward-moving trough of low pressure is currently over the West Coast while a westward-moving ridge of high pressure is over the Southeast. Additionally, the remnants of Tropical Storm Alberto are moving west across central Mexico.
The current rains are due to the clockwise circulation around the westward-moving high pressure cell over the Southeast carrying moisture from the Gulf of Mexico northward over our area, with a possible moisture contribution from Alberto, the first named tropical storm of the season.
This continues on Friday with showers possible through the day before the eastward-moving West Coast trough carries a cool front through north-central Colorado by early Friday evening. The interaction between the trough of low pressure, the associated cool front and existing moisture means strong rotating thunderstorms are possible Friday afternoon and evening, replete with heavy rainfall and hail, and maybe even a funnel cloud, especially if there are periods of sun in the afternoon, making the storms stronger.
Much quieter weather is in store for the weekend, with high temperatures on Saturday around our average of 78 F as the trough of eastward-moving low pressure exits our area and the eastward-moving high pressure cell approaches our area. There will be a chance of the usual passing summertime afternoon and evening storms on both days thanks to moisture left behind from the current weather pattern, along with temperatures climbing toward the mid-eighties on Sunday.
Even warmer temperatures are forecast for next week, so enjoy our first official summertime weekend of the year, as the solstice occurred today at 2:50 pm, and check back to my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Sunday afternoon.
Warm and breezy ahead of dry cold front to arrive Monday night
Sunday, June 16, 2024
A very pleasant late Sunday morning is over Steamboat Springs this Father’s Day with temperatures approaching seventy degrees and nary a cloud in the sky. A couple of warm and breezy afternoons will precede a cold front Monday night bringing cooler weather for Tuesday and Wednesday. But the heat returns by Thursday along with a surge of moisture accompanied by rain chances for the end of the workweek.
A ridge of high pressure currently sits over the East while a trough of low pressure is centered over Vancouver. A wave of energy rotating around the Vancouver storm will carry a dry cold front through the Great Basin Monday and our area Monday night. Warm temperatures approaching the mid-eighties, between five and ten degrees above our 77 F average, will be accompanied by increasing winds from the southwest this afternoon and even more so on Monday as the cold front approaches.
High temperatures will only be around seventy degrees on a dry Tuesday which would be the first below-average reading in the last ten days. Average temperatures on Wednesday with a slight chance of afternoon showers will precede a trip back to the low-eighties on Thursday as a surge of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico overspreads Colorado.
Interestingly, the moisture surge will be due to the the eastern dome of high pressure flattening and squirting westward thanks to energy and cold air ejecting from the Vancouver low pressure area and moving across the U.S. and Canadian border. Winds rotating clockwise around the westward-moving high pressure cell will carry a deep layer of moisture northwards from the Gulf of Mexico and increase rain chances for our area by as early as Thursday afternoon. Coincidentally, the summer solstice occurs at 2:50 PM and marks the longest day of the year with fifteen hours and four minutes of daylight over our area.
Better rain chances are forecast for Friday as a wave of energy moving across the Pacific crosses the central California coast on Wednesday and interacts with the Gulf of Mexico moisture over our area by the end of the workweek. Enjoy the cooldown on Tuesday and be sure to check back to my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Thursday afternoon for more details on those late workweek rain chances.
Cooler Friday ahead of a hot and mostly dry weekend
Thursday, June 13, 2024
Temperatures are in the mid-eighties under sunny skies this Thursday mid-afternoon in Steamboat Springs. An approaching storm from the southwest will bring cooler temperatures on Friday with a chance for some showers during the day and night. But hot temperatures return on a Saturday with some low-end afternoon shower chances before even warmer temperatures and increasingly breezy conditions appear for Sunday.
An eddy of low pressure that spent the week vacationing off the coast of southern California is on the move thanks to a large and cold storm approaching the Pacific Northwest Coast from the Gulf of Alaska. The eddy is forecast to move across the Desert Southwest tonight and Colorado on Friday, bringing our high temperatures down from the upper-eighties today, over ten degrees above our average temperature of 75 F, to around 80 F on Friday.
Precipitation looked more substantial several days ago, but the amount of moisture in the storm has decreased, limiting the amount of rain we may see from periodic showers that should last through Friday and Friday night.
Saturday will start a bit cooler than the last few days, with lows several degrees above our average of 39 F, but lots of sun will allow the high temperatures to rise back to the low-eighties. There will also be a chance of some afternoon and evening storms thanks to moisture left behind from the Friday storm.
Meanwhile, the Pacific Northwest storm will rotate toward the Great Basin on Sunday, and breezy winds from the southwest ahead of the storm will accompany the mid-eighty degree high temperatures. This looks to persist through Monday as the Pacific Northwest storm moves through the Great Basin, with dry and substantially cooler weather advertised for Tuesday.
Enjoy your weekend, and check back for more details on the Tuesday cool-down in my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Sunday afternoon.
Mostly dry with mid-eighties by midweek
Sunday, June 9, 2024
Sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-seventies, on their way to the low eighties, are over the Steamboat Springs area this Sunday noon. Some sparse clouds may produce a shower or two on Monday before the warmest temperatures of the season in the mid-eighties appear by midweek. Cooler and wetter weather may arrive at the end of the workweek and the start of next weekend.
An eddy of low pressure from off the coast of Baja is now moving across the Desert Southwest thanks to a wave of low pressure crossing the West Coast. The wave is forecast to split, with the northern end grazing our area by Monday night and the southern end forming another eddy off the coast of southern California.
The Baja eddy originally looked like it would move close enough to our area for showers, but now the slightly stronger northern wave will keep the eddy over southern Colorado. So precipitation today is unlikely, with a chance for a shower or two on Monday.
After high temperatures in the low-eighties today, almost ten degrees above our average of 74 F, some clouds on Monday will drop high temperatures to around eighty degrees. And those temperatures will persist on a dry Tuesday as a weak cool front from that northern wave grazes our area Monday night.
A flat ridge of high pressure behind the grazing wave to our north and ahead of the southern California eddy to our southwest will bring mostly sunny skies by midweek and the warmest temperatures of the season so far, reaching the mid-eighties on Wednesday and nudging above that on Thursday. But the record high temperature on Thursday of 89 F recorded in 1918 looks safe.
Meanwhile, a storm over the Aleutian Islands is forecast to approach the West Coast near the end of the work week and force the southern California eddy to move over the Desert Southwest and toward our area by the start of next weekend. If the remnants of the eddy move overhead as currently predicted, we could see a good chance of showers and cooler temperatures by later Friday. But that forecast may change, so be sure to check back to my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Thursday afternoon for the latest details on the weather for next weekend.
