Skip to content

Saturdaty Update: Front Range Forecast: Warm and windy again

In Brief:

Very warm and windy conditions return.

Saturday Update:

Very warm (70F today!) weather returns and the winds pick up again creating fire weather danger. We return to seasonable temperatures with low precipitation chances until we get to Thursday. The week-end storm looks fairly warm and not particularly wet, but I'll keep an eye on it here.  Go out and play - it is beautiful out there!

figure2u_03022024
Figure 1 update: the 10 day graphical forecast for Longmont from weatherunderground.com

End Saturday update.

The Forecast Discussion:

We have a few days of unusual warmth and wind creating red flag fire warning conditions (Figure 1).  A strong, but fast moving, cold front hits Monday night.  (See the Longer Range forecast below for more).

figure1_02242024
Figure 1: the 10 day graphical forecast for Longmont from weatherunderground.com

The Longer Range Forecast:

The approaching upper air trough stretches from Canada down into the Pacific (Figure 2).  If this could have arrived as a cut-off low (as the models showed a week ago) - we could have had significant state-wide snowfall.  But, it will move through rather quickly. The peak snowfall for the storm appears to center on lunchtime Tuesday (high sun angle will make sticking snow difficult to achieve - Figure 3).

Currently, the GFS (Figure 4) gives Longmont 2-4 inches.  The NAM (Figure 5) gives us 1-3 inches with more quickly piling up closer to the mountains.

More later!

After that passes, it looks like we return to the 60's very quickly.

 

figure2_02242024
Figure 2: the 500mb upper air forecast map from the GFS and tropicaltidbits.com
figure3_02242024
Figure 3: the surface conditions forecast map from the GFS and tropicaltidbits.com
figure4_02242024
Figure 4: the 10:1 snowfall forecast from the GFS and weather5280.com through Wednesday.
figure5_02242024
Figure 5: the 10:1 snowfall forecast from the NAM and weather5280.com through Wednesday.

 


About the Author: John Ensworth

John Ensworth used to work from Longmont as the PI for the NASA through the IGES (The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies). He now teaches technology, algebra, astronomy, meteorology, film school, and Lego robotics to middle/high school.
Read more


Comments


Current Weather

Mostly clear

Mostly clear

54°F

UV Index
0 Low
Pressure
30.02 Rising
Visibility
8 miles
Dewpoint
42 °F
Humidity
63%
Wind
NE 2.7 mph
Gust
6.8 mph
Wind Chill
54 °F

Hourly Forecast

Today
4 AM
51°F
Mostly clear
Today
5 AM
50°F
Mostly clear
Today
6 AM
49°F
Mostly sunny
Today
7 AM
51°F
Mostly sunny
Today
8 AM
53°F
Mostly sunny
Today
9 AM
56°F
Mostly sunny
Today
10 AM
59°F
Mostly sunny
Today
11 AM
62°F
Partly sunny
Today
12 PM
64°F
Intermittent clouds
Today
1 PM
67°F
Mostly cloudy
Today
2 PM
68°F
Mostly cloudy
Today
3 PM
69°F
Cloudy

7 Day Forecast

Mostly cloudy w/ showers

Sunday

79 °F

Some sun, then increasing clouds with a brief shower or two in the afternoon


Partly cloudy

Sunday Night

49 °F

Breezy in the evening; otherwise, partly cloudy


Partly sunny w/ t-storms

Monday

70 °F

Not as warm with clouds and sunshine; a heavy thunderstorm late this afternoon


Thunderstorms

Monday Night

47 °F

Cloudy; a heavy thunderstorm around this evening followed by a little rain late


Thunderstorms

Tuesday

61 °F

Mostly cloudy and cool; an afternoon thunderstorm


Partly cloudy

Tuesday Night

37 °F

Partly cloudy


Partly sunny

Wednesday

72 °F

Partly sunny, pleasant and warmer


Mostly clear

Wednesday Night

40 °F

Mainly clear


Partly sunny

Thursday

82 °F

Becoming windier and warmer with some sun


Mostly cloudy

Thursday Night

44 °F

Mostly cloudy


Sunrise and Sunset

Sunrise
5:41 AM
Sunset
8:14 PM

Based on AccuWeather data