Dylan Anderson / Steamboat Pilot and Today
Steamboat Resort is expected to experience one final storm this week before the mountain closes for the ski season on Sunday, April 10.
The week will start in sunshine on Monday April 4, with high temperatures nearing 50 degrees, before the wind picks up that night and a storm moves in from the northwest.
“Monday night is when things start, and it looks like it’s going to be a pretty messy system,” said Mike Weissbluth, a local meteorologist who runs forecast website Snowalarm.com..
Weissbluth said the storm is coming from the northwest, which typically brings precipitation to the area, and forecast models show freezing rain by Tuesday morning.
He said Steamboat hasn’t seen many storms coming in from the northwest this season. However, after an initial surge, he expects the storm system to dry out significantly.
For the duration of the storm, it will be windy, Weissbluth said. On Tuesday, April 5, the National Weather Service forecast wind gusts of up to 40 mph. Weissbluth expects snow most of Tuesday before colder air moves into the area that night.
The snow is expected to continue Wednesday morning, April 6, before easing around noon. For the entire storm, Weissbluth predicts 6 to 12 inches at mid-mountain.
“It shouldn’t be much, maybe a few inches here or there,” said Mike Miller, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction. “I would say probably between 2 and 4 (inches) (in town), with a bit more at the higher places.”
Once the storm passes through the area, a ridge of high pressure will establish over the area, which will end any possibility of snowfall before the ski season ends in Steamboat, Miller said.
Temperatures are expected to warm through the end of the week, with Saturday’s high approaching 60 degrees.
“We’re going to have a great weekend,” Weissbluth said, adding there could be another major storm shortly after the resort closes, but it will be fine as it could add to the snowpack.
A potential snow-water equivalent peak on March 25 at 16.9 inches has held so far, despite increased snowpack after a storm late last week.
To reach Dylan Anderson, call 970-871-4247 or email [email protected].
