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.
feb.3 weather
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Wednesday, February 3rd,
2010
Rocky
Mountain National Park Weather Forecast
Over
the past two weeks, El-Nino conditions over the central
tropical Pacific
Ocean were supercharged
by
the Madden–Julian oscillation.
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The Week in Review
These
conditions produced a strong extended jet stream
across the eastern Pacific
Ocean and a
split-storm track across the western US; a climatologically common
mid-latitude
teleconnection response during moderate to strong El-Nino conditions.
In
the mean, RMNP remained positioned in the inactive zone
of the split-flow pattern, which kept most of the stormy weather to the
south
and well to the north.
However,
a couple of passing waves of weakening energy were
able to produce some weather over the Park; the most notable of which
occurred
on Jan 27/28.
About
4 inches of new snow fell near treeline with this
system, with locally higher amounts (up to 10 inches) in the higher
elevation
couloirs.
Winds remained low for
about a
four day period following the new snow, which allowed powder conditions
to
persist above treeline during the period.
Stronger
northwesterly winds and some additional light
snow returned on Jan 31 and Feb 1, acting to scour exposed slopes and
produce
fresh slab and drifts on lee- and cross-loaded aspects.
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Last week's weather events in the Pacific Ocean and the diverting
moisture around Colorado.
click charts
and photos to enlarge
Wind speeds near the Continental Divide last week.
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The Upcoming Week
The
split-flow pattern will persist over the next week. Two
storm systems are forecast to clip the
region over the period; one on February 3rd and 4th with a second storm
on February 7th and 8th.
Some
light orographic snow is forecast with the first system
in the post-frontal environment, but accumulations are expected to be
light.
The
second period of disturbed weather will occur as wave
energy from the northern and southern storm-track branches merge over Colorado.
This
event will pose the best chance for new
accumulating snows, and winds are also forecast to be light during this
time.
Sound pleasantly
familiar?
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The
launching pad for a sweet
powder run down the lower apron of the Dragontail's Spine, RMNP.
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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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