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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, June 16th, 2011
Rocky Mountain National Park Weather Forecast
Early summer weather conditions prevailed over most of the past week across RMNP.
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Week in Review
Two weak weather fronts on 6/10 and 6/14 brought only brief periods of freezing air temperatures to the alpine zone during the overnight hours. During most mornings and afternoons, clear skies and strong solar heating caused rapid warming and daytime maximum temperatures near 50 F near 12 kft.
The dry airmass kept RMNP precipitation free, but also allowed for strong long-wave radiational cooling at the surface during the nighttime hours. The resulting freeze of the existing snowpack surface provided for efficient early-morning travel and premium corn-snow conditions during the sunny mid-morning hours.
The summer meltdown continued its steady and elevated pace, with the Big Thompson (below Moraine Park) flowing at twice its typical level for this time of year near 400 cfs during the latter part of each day.
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A graphed summary of the last week's weather weather patterns and river flows across RMNP.
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The weather forecast for June 16-23rd , 2011 over the skies of RMNP, Colorado with the start of thunderstorm season potentially kicking-in soon. Next week's cool-down will help the alpine ice formation.
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The Upcoming Week
A westerly wave moving across the northwestern states will stall a cold-frontal zone across northern CO over the weekend.
Moisture will focus along and ahead of this frontal zone, bringing increased cloudiness and chances for precipitation to RMNP. Unstable lapse rates, particularly during the afternoon hours, will force convective responses and an increased risk of lightening. Friday and Sunday (6/17 and 6/19) are currently forecast to be the most active weather wise.
As the wave energy moves east of the northern Rockies on Monday (6/20), the moist and active weather will focus along the eastern slope and plains throughout the remainder of the week. Cooling temperatures are expected across the Park during this time, with deep convective activity developing over its eastern region during the afternoon hours.
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Dan "the weather man" Gottas enjoying sweet corn conditions on an ascent and ski descent from the summit of Mount Nimbus (12,706') on June 10th, 2011. Clear nights have set-up a perfect corn cycle which should give us great skiing conditions for another month at the current melt rate.
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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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