YOUR AD HERE »

Powder gurus say Steamboat skiers could get their wish Jan. 7

Tom Ross
  

A much-needed bout of fresh snow could refresh the hills and mountains around Steamboat Springs beginning Saturday, Jan. 6 and continuing into Sunday.
John Russell
[swift-snippet id="306163"]

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Could Steamboat be in store for some fresh powder over the weekend?

Steamboat Springs-based meteorologist Mike Weissbluth, who knows these mountains and the way they interact with weather fronts like few others, believes there is a good chance of 4 to 8 inches of new snow by Sunday morning, Jan. 7.

“Clouds will increase starting later Friday as some moisture moves through the (high pressure) ridge, with a slight chance of light snow showers in the afternoon and evening,” adding a couple more inches of fluff, Weissbluth wrote in his SnowAlarm blog Jan. 4.



“A brief break in the moisture stream may allow the sun to reappear Saturday morning, but clouds will increase during the afternoon ahead of the storm forecast for Saturday night. We have northwest flow, moisture and cold air, so moderate snow is likely,” Weissbluth wrote.

Joel Gratz of Open Snow published four different charts based on four different forecast models — the Canadian, American GFS, European and European Ensemble — with forecasts that would produce varying snowfall amounts for Steamboat.



And Weissbluth acknowledges that this powder forecast is no sure thing.

“The storm structure is still changing in the weather forecast models, and it is not clear at this point how organized the storm will be as it crosses through Colorado, with some models indicating more of a split in the storm as it crosses our area,” he wrote.

Weissbluth expects that another ridge of high pressure will move across the area beginning later Sunday through Tuesday signaling the return of unseasonably warm daytime temperatures back to the west. He also sees a second storm due to cross the West Coat late Tuesday, which could result in another blast of snow by Jan. 10 (Wednesday) night or during the day on Thursday.

To reach Tom Ross, call 970-871-4205, email tross@SteamboatToday.com or follow him on Twitter @ThomasSRoss1.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Steamboat and Routt County make the Steamboat Pilot & Today’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.