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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, February 24th, 2011
Rocky Mountain National Park Weather Forecast
Snowy skies returned to the mountains of RMNP over the past week.
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Week in Review
A change in the storm track across the Pacific allowed storm energy to once again make landfall across CA. In contrast to the northwesterly storm track that prevailed for most of this winter season over CO, storm energy over the past week has made its eastward trek across the Rockies with more of a southwest-to-northeast oriented trajectory.
While the resulting weather pattern has still produced new snow for the Park, southwesterly flow near mountain top has favored the most snowfall over the central and southern ranges of CO due to more favorable orographic enhancement.
Two rounds of snowfall on 2/17 and 2/20 collectively produced about another inch of snow water equivalent at Bear Lake, which has continued to keep skiing conditions fresh. Areas near and below treeline have also been the recipient of wind-induced deposition and the deepest accumulations.
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A graphed summary of the last week's weather weather patterns over RMNP.
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The Weather Forecast Feb. 24-March 3, 2011.
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The Upcoming Week
The storm track configuration of the past week will continue through the upcoming weekend. This will produce a colder and snowy period from late Thursday (2/24) though Saturday (2/26).
New snow over the three day period is forecast between 1.0 - 1.25 inches of liquid equivalent, which could translate into 1.5 feet of new snow for more favorable higher-elevation locations. The heaviest snow is expected on Friday (2/25), when stronger orographically favorable westerly winds, unstable lapse rates during the daytime hours, and jet-stream dynamics combine forces.
Temperatures during this stormy period are forecast to be in the teens F near treeline. The wind direction will turn southwesterly on Saturday and Sunday, which should reduce mountain-wave accelerations in the lee of the Divide.
A gradual warming trend with drying will ensue on Monday (2/28) and will continue for the rest of the week, as the western US storm track shifts northward. Winds are forecast to turn around to the windier westerly direction during this time. The next chance for new snow is currently forecast for the end of next week.
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Henry Wood in the constriction of the Dragontail Couloir on Feb. 6th, 2011 with up to a meter of new, uncohesive snow. It doesn't get much better than this!
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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.
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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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