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Next Storm/Next Snow Forecast Discussion from the Cherrywood Observatory – March 5, 2019

This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

Forecast Discussion:

The slow thaw begins. Clear skies dominate. Figure 1 shows us sitting high and dry with all storm systems many states away. You might start to see pavement on side roads soon.

The building warmth is aided by the ridge that is sliding over the state (Figure 2 - blue line just west of Colorado). By Thursday midday, we are up to about 10 degrees above normal (even with cold air out on the eastern plains - Figure 3).

The longer range forecast:

Another system approaches the state at the end of the week. We have a trough where the ridge was at the start of the week on Friday (Figure 4). Right now, it looks like very minimal moisture will be available. We cool from the mid 50'sF to the mid 40'sF for the weekend. It will be a minimal change with temperatures still hovering around normal.

Figure 1: The forecast surface map for Tuesday noon from NCEP.
Figure 2: The 500mb forecast upper air analysis for Tuesday PM. Pink dot is Longmont. Red lines are troughs, blue lines are ridges.
Figure 3: The forecast temperature departure from normal map from the GFS and weather5280.com for Colorado, Thursday noon.
Figure 4: The 500mb forecast upper air analysis for Friday PM. Pink dot is Longmont. Red lines are troughs, blue lines are ridges.

Current Weather

Cloudy

Cloudy

43°F

UV Index
0 Low
Pressure
29.75 Falling
Visibility
8 miles
Dewpoint
29 °F
Humidity
60%
Wind
NNW 2.2 mph
Gust
5.2 mph
Wind Chill
43 °F

Hourly Forecast

Today
3 AM
40°F
Intermittent clouds
Today
4 AM
38°F
Intermittent clouds
Today
5 AM
36°F
Intermittent clouds
Today
6 AM
34°F
Intermittent clouds
Today
7 AM
36°F
Intermittent clouds
Today
8 AM
37°F
Intermittent clouds
Today
9 AM
41°F
Intermittent clouds
Today
10 AM
44°F
Intermittent clouds
Today
11 AM
47°F
Intermittent clouds
Today
12 PM
49°F
Intermittent clouds
Today
1 PM
51°F
Intermittent clouds
Today
2 PM
52°F
Intermittent clouds

7 Day Forecast

Partly sunny

Thursday

65 °F

Partly sunny


Intermittent clouds

Thursday Night

34 °F

Partly cloudy


Partly sunny w/ showers

Friday

52 °F

Cooler with times of clouds and sun; a couple of showers late this afternoon


Showers

Friday Night

34 °F

A couple of showers this evening; otherwise, cloudy


Mostly cloudy

Saturday

60 °F

Mostly cloudy


Intermittent clouds

Saturday Night

34 °F

Partly cloudy


Intermittent clouds

Sunday

62 °F

Periods of clouds and sun


Mostly cloudy

Sunday Night

33 °F

Becoming cloudy


Showers

Monday

52 °F

Cloudy and cooler with occasional rain; windy in the afternoon


Intermittent clouds

Monday Night

29 °F

Windy in the evening; partly cloudy


Sunrise and Sunset

Sunrise
6:50 AM
Sunset
7:22 PM

Based on AccuWeather data