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.
