The weekly
weather forecast for the high country of Rocky Mountain National Park,
Colorado. Researched and written weekly by professional meteorologist
and avid mountaineer, Dan "the weather man" Gottas.
sept. 17th weather
forecast
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Thursday,
September 17th,
2009
Rocky
Mountain National Park Weather Forecast
The
first taste of the ‘09/’10 winter season arrived
last
weekend in the mountains of RMNP.
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The Week in Review
A
widespread snowfall occurred above 9-10 kft, which
accumulated above 11 kft.
This
fall-like
weather was produced by a rather odd storm track, which allowed a
system to
track southwestward from the Dakotas.
The
newly accumulated snow did not last for long, as the
late summer atmosphere quickly warmed once the storm exited northward
through
WY and MT on Sun/Mon.
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Click chart to enlarge
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Click chart to enlarge
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The
Upcoming Week
Warm,
stable, and storm-free conditions are expected over
the high peaks on Thu. (9/17) through Sat. (9/19). During
this time, afternoon convective
instability is forecast to remain south of the region (over the central
and
southern mountains of CO).
The
weather will begin to change on Sun. ahead of an
approaching weather system from the northwest.
Showers and
thunderstorms are expected to return during the afternoon
hours.
The
current forecast guidance indicates another round of
fall-like weather for Mon.
Temperatures
will cool down significantly and precipitation is expected to fall in
the form
of snow over the mountains.
This
colder and snowier forecast has only recently evolved
in the models, so a close eye on the future forecasts is warranted, if
accuracy/details are needed.
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Chris
Erickson practice guiding the north ridge of the First Flattiron during
a ClimbingLife Guides -AMGA Rock Guide Course on a cold and wet Sept. 12th outing.
Click on image to enlarge
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The
NWS numerical forecast for
the mountains of RMNP over
the upcoming weekend
Click
chart
to enlarge
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Detailed
7-Day
Forecast
The
link above will take you to the National Weather Service
forecast for the
12,000 foot level near Longs Peak.
These
forecasts are derived from computer-generated numerical forecasts, and
are
updated shortly after 3:30 am, 9:30 am, 3:30 pm, and 9:30 pm local
time.
In the lower right-hand corner of the page, one can view forecasts for
other
locations in the Park by clicking on the desired location in the
terrain map.
Do-It-Yourself
Weather Forecast
Links
The
link above provides a list
of web links to various sites
containing a variety of meteorological data and information.
Collectively,
these resources can be used to monitor and study current weather
conditions, as
well short-term, medium-range, and climate forecasts
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