More snow Saturday night behind warm and windy weather
Thursday, March 12, 2026
Mostly cloudy skies and breezy winds are over Steamboat Springs with temperatures in the low fifties in town and at freezing near the top of the Steamboat Ski Resort early this Thursday afternoon. More warm weather through Saturday precedes increasingly windy conditions ahead of another quick-moving cold front that will bring much colder temperatures and accumulating snow by Sunday morning.
Strong ridging off the southern California coast and a deep downstream trough over the eastern North America leaves moderately fast northwest flow from the Pacific Northwest to the central Rockies and Plains. Spotty moisture in the stable and warm flow will allow for sunnier skies on Friday before mostly cloudy weather returns for Saturday. But winds will only increase with gusts as high as 60 mph on Friday, followed by 70-80 mph gusts by Saturday afternoon, possibly affecting lift operations.
Similar to Tuesday night, when 3.5” of snow fell at mid-mountain, and 4” up top, accompanied by a 3-degree temperature and 20 mph winds, an eddy of low pressure northwest of Hawaii will encourage a slug of Pineapple Express moisture to move northeastward and be ingested into a wave of cold air moving across the Gulf of Alaska.
The snow on Tuesday night was not well forecast, even by the shortest-range models, with the Gulf of Alaska energy and moisture moving further south than expected, leading to a colder and snowier outcome than forecast. There is a chance the same thing occurs again on Saturday night, with a possible 4-8” of snow falling at mid-mountain by Sunday morning, with quite cold mountain-top temperatures starting in the single digits and highs in town around freezing, well below our average of 45 F, for a change.
Snow showers will continue on the cold Sunday in the favorable cold, moist, breezy, and unstable northwest flow behind the storm, with another 1-4” at mid-mountain possible.
High temperatures rebound on Monday toward average, with continued breezes from the northwest as a ridge of high pressure moves across the West. There may be additional precipitation chances early in the workweek as more moisture moves through northwest flow, though the warm and stable conditions will likely limit accumulations.
Hopefully, Saturday afternoon lift impacts will be minimal due to the strong and gusty winds from the west. Enjoy the return of winter for Sunday, and I’ll have more details on a warming workweek in my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Sunday afternoon.
Breezy warm days to be interrupted by dry Wednesday cool front
Sunday, March 8, 2026
Skies are clearing from the west this Sunday at noon in Steamboat Springs, with temperatures around forty degrees in town, warming to around fifty degrees, and mid-twenties at the top of the Steamboat Ski Resort. More sun, afternoon breezes, and warmer temperatures to start the work week precedes cooler temperatures on Wednesday due to a dry grazing cool front. Temperatures rebound starting Thursday, lasting into the weekend, with afternoon breezes and mostly cloudy skies.
After ten inches of snow were reported at mid-mountain between Wednesday night and Friday afternoon, eight inches up top, and seven inches in town, Saturday brought a stunning, but relatively rare this season, mid-winter day. Snowfall on Friday was intense at times during the afternoon, highlighted by three-inch-per-hour snowfall rates between 2 pm and 2:20 pm, recorded at both mid-mountain and the summit, and again between 4 pm and 4:20 pm, but only at mid-mountain and in town.
Clouds this morning should give way to a beautiful, mostly sunny afternoon with high temperatures rising to around fifty degrees, above our 42-degree average.
The eddy from the splitting storm that just passed through our area is now vacationing off the coast of Baja, and will be coaxed across the Mexican border by energy ejecting from a storm in the Gulf of Alaska. The jet stream to our north will strengthen, bringing afternoon breezes on Monday and Tuesday, but allowing high temperatures to rise into the mid-fifties, perhaps threatening the 57-degree record on Monday set in 1989.
By Tuesday night, the jet stream will move southward, linking up with the eddy remnant and allowing cold air to spill southward across the Midwest on Wednesday, likely causing severe weather in the Ohio River Valley. While we will avoid almost all of the cold air, a grazing cool front will knock high temperatures back to around average on Wednesday, with a shower or two possible north of our area Tuesday night.
Cold air moving southward across Alaska will keep the Gulf of Alaska storm active through the weekend. An eddy of low pressure north of Hawaii is forecast to inject some moisture into the storm starting around midweek, forming an atmospheric river, also known in this case as the Pineapple Express, before becoming absorbed by the storm near the end of the weekend.
Unfortunately, a ridge of high pressure is forecast to build ahead of the eddy and move eastward toward the southern West Coast by the weekend, keeping the jet stream across the Northern Rockies. It appears we will see some moisture in this pattern with northwesterly winds, though the warm air and absence of storm energy mean only cloudiness from Thursday into the weekend.
The jet stream is forecast to eventually be forced southward on the front side of the building ridge, possibly ingesting some cold Canadian air and moving far enough south across the central Rockies to bring precipitation back to our area by the end of the weekend or early in the following workweek. But that is a week away, so enjoy the beautiful start to the workweek, and I’ll have more details about the weekend in my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Thursday afternoon.
Winter weather to briefly return ahead of a nice weekend
Thursday, March 5, 2026
Despite clouds building to our southwest ahead of an approaching winter storm, sunny skies are over Steamboat Springs this Thursday at noon, with temperatures in the low forties in town and mid-twenties near the top of the Steamboat Ski Resort. The storm will bring snow accumulations to all elevations from tonight through Friday, starting a mostly sunny weekend on a relatively cool note, especially after the record-high temperatures of the previous week.
Those records included tying the 52-degree high temperature mark set in 1940 last Friday, breaking the 52-degree record on Saturday with 55 degrees, and shattering the 56-degree record on Monday with 62 degrees, well above the 40-degree average and representative of early-May temperatures.
We’ve seen another couple of warm days behind the very disappointing storm that barely arrived last Tuesday, with another more promising storm on our doorstep. A trough of low pressure extending southwestward from Idaho across Utah to southern California will split on Friday, with the northern part of the split moving across Colorado during the day. A cold front associated with the storm’s leading edge begins snow showers at all elevations around mid-evening, becoming strongest between midnight and Friday morning.
We could see 3-6” of new snow for the Friday morning mid-mountain ski report, and that again during the day, with 1-4” of total accumulation in town, as the northern part of the split moves across northeastern Colorado. The southern part of the split is forecast to head toward Baja by Monday, leaving us in a col between the storm pieces, and interfering with the favorable northwest flow that normally occurs behind winter storms. While current forecasts have much of the snow over by sunset Friday, some showers may continue Friday night ahead of a relatively cold Saturday morning, with low temperatures around our average of 13 degrees in town, and around 5 degrees at the top of the hill.
High temperatures in town on Friday will finally fall below average, though only by a few degrees, before clouds clear on Saturday, bringing a mostly sunny afternoon with average high temperatures. As winds shift from the north to the west on a mostly sunny Sunday, bringing warmer air aloft, high temperatures rise back to the upper forties.
The following workweek is forecast to start warm and dry, with weather forecast models trending further north and weaker with possible grazing storms around Tuesday and Friday. So, as usual, hope for more snow than forecast on Friday, enjoy the nice weekend, and I’ll have more details on possible storm chances next week in my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Sunday afternoon.
Storms on Tuesday and Friday
Sunday, March 1, 2026
A mix of sun and clouds is over Steamboat Springs this Sunday at noon, with temperatures in the mid-forties in town, on their way to 50 degrees, and the upper twenties near the top of the Steamboat Ski Resort. Even warmer temperatures on Monday will be followed by another warm storm on Tuesday, sun on Wednesday, more clouds on Thursday, and a cooler storm on Friday.
The two low-pressure eddies to our west, identified in my last weather narrative on Thursday, are on the move, with the first now approaching the northern California coast and the second evolving south of the Aleutian Islands. Energy and moisture ejecting out of the first brought a half inch of snow at mid-mountain and two inches up top this morning, with skies partially clearing behind that impulse.
A transient and shallow ridge of high pressure ahead of the first eddy will be pushed over our area on Monday as the storm crosses the Great Basin, reaching our area early Tuesday morning. A mix of sun and clouds will accompany the ridge on Monday, allowing the high temperature in town to approach the record high of 56 degrees, set in 1992.
Precipitation should start after midnight on Monday, with snow levels lowering to around 7,500′ by Tuesday morning. We could see 1-4” of dense snow at mid-mountain by Tuesday morning’s ski report, with another 2-5” during the day as the storm moves across. High temperatures in town will fall to the low forties, closer to, but still warmer than our 40-degree average.
Meanwhile, a part of the Dateline eddy will be forced eastward by cold air moving southwestward from the Bering Sea and moisture and energy moving eastward from off Japan’s coast. Another transient ridge of high pressure, but stronger, will form ahead of the storm, bringing mostly sunny skies on Wednesday with high temperatures in town rising back toward 50 degrees.
Cold air moving southward from Alaska will reinforce what is left of the Dateline eddy as it crosses the West Coast on Wednesday. Weather forecast models have settled on a splitting storm crossing the Great Basin Wednesday night, with the northern part of the split bringing advancing clouds on Thursday and winter weather back to our area at all elevations by Friday, the end of the first workweek of meteorological spring.
Snowfall amounts through Friday could be significant at the higher elevations, with as much as 6-12” on the hill and several inches in town, though those amounts will be dependent upon how much energy is partitioned into the northern and southern parts of the split.
Interestingly, the southern part of the split is forecast to wander southwestward for several days and vacation over Baja, and may eventually be a player in our weather the following week. But that is ten days away, so in the meantime, enjoy the snow on the hill on Tuesday, and I’ll have more details on the likely stronger and colder Friday storm in my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Thursday afternoon.
Nice start to the weekend to precede Sunday showers
Thursday, February 26, 2026
Mostly cloudy skies are over Steamboat Springs early this Thursday afternoon, with temperatures around 40 degrees in town, on the way to the mid-forties, and 20 degrees at the top of the Steamboat Ski Resort. The atmospheric river that brought 6” of dense snow to mid-mountain on Wednesday morning and around an inch of rain in town is receding, bringing some sun to the area this afternoon. Beautiful weather will follow on a warm, mostly sunny Friday and Saturday ahead of another round of warm precipitation for Sunday.
Two large eddies of low pressure flank a ridge of high pressure near the Dateline, while a trough of low pressure extends southward from the Great Lakes. The western-most eddy is forecast to strengthen and move eastward, destroying the Dateline ridge and forcing the downstream eddy eastward toward the northern California coast by Sunday.
A transient and shallow ridge of high pressure will build over the West ahead of this eddy, bringing mostly sunny skies on Friday and most of Saturday, with high temperatures in the upper-forties on Friday and around 50 degrees on Saturday, well above our 39-degree average.
Energy and moisture ejecting from the eddy will cross the Great Basin on Saturday, reaching our area as early as Saturday afternoon and bringing increasing high clouds. Fortunately, this won’t be a windy storm, but unfortunately, it will be another warm storm with snow levels around 8,500′, bringing rain to the Yampa Valley and more dense snow at and above mid-mountain on Sunday.
What remains of the eddy is forecast to cross the Great Basin on Monday, providing a break in the precipitation, which is expected to restart later Monday or Tuesday as the storm approaches and then moves across Colorado.
So enjoy the nice couple of days to start the weekend, and I’ll have more details on the approaching storm, including mid-mountain snowfall guesses, in my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Sunday afternoon.
