Arctic front to bring more snow tonight and cold temperatures to start the weekend
Thursday, January 8, 2026
After nine inches of snow fell from the first part of a storm at mid-mountain as of this Thursday mid-afternoon in Steamboat Springs, skies are overcast with a temperature of twenty-eight degrees in town and fourteen degrees at the top of the Steamboat Ski Resort. An arctic front associated with the second part of the storm moves through our area tonight, bringing colder temperatures for Friday and some snow tonight. After a cold start to Saturday, temperatures start to warm, reaching the mid-thirties on a mostly sunny Sunday.
A broad and cold trough of low pressure extends from Canada to the Mexican border, spanning the Canadian Rockies and Intermountain West, as well as the Great Plains. The first part of the storm was quite productive, with snowfall starting around 3 am and accumulating three inches by the Thursday morning ski report at 5 am, highlighted by an inch of snow between 3:40 am and 4:00 am. An additional six inches fell by 10 am, highlighted by two inches between 6:40 am and 7:20 am.
The second part of the storm will bring an arctic front through the area this evening as the main forcing stays to our west and then south. We could see an additional 1-4” of fluffy snowfall overnight, with snow showers continuing through about noon on Friday before some afternoon sun. High temperatures on Friday will only be in the teens in town, below the twenty-nine-degree average, and single digits up top.
Clouds on Friday night will prevent temperatures from plummeting as they insulate the surface like a blanket, but they may still reach below zero in town, below the four-degree average, as well as on the hill.
Temperatures will grudgingly warm to several degrees below average in town on Saturday, helped by some afternoon sun, as a ridge of high pressure begins to move over the West behind the departing storm. We could see mid-thirties on a mostly sunny Sunday, though the fresh snow cover and low sun angle may mean we warm more slowly than predicted.
The nice weather is forecast to continue into the next workweek, with a grazing storm forecast around midweek and another at the end of the workweek. Enjoy the wintry weather for the weekend, and I’ll have more details on the approaching storms in my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Sunday afternoon.
