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The weekend weather forecast for the high country of Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Researched and written by professional meteorologist and avid mountaineer, Dan "the weather man" Gottas.
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Thursday, August 19th, 2010
Rocky Mountain National Park Weather Forecast
Active westerly flow displaced southward over Colorado brought a wavy ride of weather to the Park over the past week.
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Week in Review
Three waves in the westerlies transported subtropical moisture northward along their eastern flanks to produce brief periods of stormy weather on 8/12, 8/16, and 8/19.
Little in the way of accumulated precipitation occurred with the first two systems (a few hundredths of an inch), but the third and moistest system (with > 1.2 cm of water vapor) has been producing some healthy rains across the Park.
The most favorable weather for climbing occurred after the passage of each wave, with drier subsident flow effectively squashing deep convection and its associated lightening and precipitation risk.
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The last week's weather patterns and resulting weather.
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The north-facing snowfield on Longs known as "The Dove" shining in the early morning hours of Aug. 16th, 2010.
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The Upcoming Weekend
The current convectively stormy weather, associated with the eastern flank of a westerly wave on 8/19, will exit the region during the overnight hours.
A dry and subsident airmass will move in on Friday 8/20, which will produce bomber storm-free weather for more committing alpine adventures. Some increased winds can be expected under stable northwesterly flow conditions during the morning hours.
Moisture is forecast to slowly increase over the weekend. However, continued subsidence will keep Saturday and most of Sunday storm free, with some isolated showers and storms possible during the late afternoon hours on Sunday.
Isolated afternoon storm activity is forecast to return early next week, however the most intense and widespread activity is currently forecast to remain to the south over the central and southern mountains of CO.
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The weekend weather forecast.
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Detailed 7-Day Forecast
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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.
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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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