|
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.
july6weather_report<span style="font-size: 10pt;" ></span>
|
Thursday, July 7th, 2011
Rocky Mountain National Park Weather Forecast
The summer monsoon weather pattern arrived to the southern and central Rockies over the past week.
|
|
Week in Review
...
This year’s hyper-active early summer storm track rapidly transitioned to a mature monsoon across the intermountain west, but not without a bang.
One last westerly wave tracked across the Park on 6/29-30, focusing strong lift and moisture in the form of intense, fast-moving thunderstorms along and ahead of its frontal zone. A blast of northwesterly winds exceeding 50 mph above treeline followed the frontal passage, aided by the mountain-wave response in the stable, subsiding flow in the lee of the Divide.
In the days that immediately followed, a large anticyclone developed across the inter-mountain west centered near the Four Corners region. This pattern typically evolves every July, as the region’s geographically broad and elevated heat source continuously cooks a deep layer of the atmosphere.
The scale of the anticyclone allows sub-tropical and tropical streams of moisture and energy to be transported from the southern latitudes of Mexico to the central latitudes of the US Rockies through August and early September.
|
A graphed summary of the last week's weather weather patterns across RMNP and close-by mountain regions.
|
Mike Arnold checking-out the view of Sundance from the flanks of Mount Chapin above the Fall River Road in RMNP.
|
|
The Upcoming Week
The monsoon circulation and its associated unstable convective weather will continue to affect RMNP over the next week.
With column-integrated moisture levels forecast in the 1-2 cm range over the higher terrain over the next 5 days, the threat of rain-soaking, energetic thunderstorm activity will increase.
As usual, this activity will be greatest during the afternoon and evening hours, when the destabilizing effect of daytime heating is maximized.
A potential reprieve from the upcoming thunderstorm cycle may be in the offering by the following weekend (7/16-17).
|
The weather forecast for the upcoming weekend which looks to be best on Sunday for going big in the alpine world.
|
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
|
|
