Temperatures are in the low forties in Steamboat Springs and low twenties near the top of the Steamboat Ski Resort this Thursday mid-afternoon. After four inches of snow at mid-mountain and six inches at the summit were reported this morning, the final piece of the storm brings a cold front tonight and another round of snow that will end Friday night in time for a nice weekend.

A winter storm is over Nevada and Utah, and some ejecting energy ahead of the storm last night brought the better-than-expected snowfall this morning. The storm has split, with another lobe of energy moving overhead tonight while the parent storm sinks into Arizona on Friday. Snow showers should redevelop this evening and become moderate at times overnight as cool air is dragged overhead behind the passing lobe of energy. By the Friday morning report, we could see 2-5” of snow at mid-mountain with mountain-top temperatures falling toward ten degrees, and another 2-5” of fluffier powder falling through noon in the moist and unstable winds from the west.

Meanwhile, a strengthening ridge of high pressure ahead of a storm developing over the Gulf of Alaska this weekend will move over the West, bringing mostly sunny skies and temperatures in town warming from around freezing on Friday, about ten degrees below our average of 42 F, to the mid-thirties on Saturday and the mid-forties on Sunday. With some clear skies, light winds and fresh snow cover, low temperatues will fall into the single digits for both weekend days, below our average of 15 F.

The nice weather will persist into the beginning of the workweek as that Gulf of Alaska storm is forecast to form an eddy that crosses Baja around Tuesday. The eddy may or may not stay south of our area by midweek, and could be followed by a storm that may bring accumulating snow to our area by the end of the workweek.

So let’s hope for some lighter and fluffier powder for Friday, enjoy the beautiful weekend, and check back to my next regularly scheduled weather narrative on Sunday afternoon for more details on that Baja eddy.