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june 18 weather forecast
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 17th, 2010
Rocky Mountain National Park Weather Forecast
A late season storm system brought three days of rain and snow to RMNP last weekend. Dry and warm weather is on tap for the upcoming weekend.
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The Week in Review
A deep and slow moving wave of low pressure in the westerlies worked on a locally moist and unstable late spring airmass to produce a widespread precipitation event across northeast CO.
About two inches of liquid was measured at several locations across the Estes Valley and surrounding sub-alpine terrain over the storm period.
Freezing levels hovered between 11-12 kft, and snow fell consistently down to 10 kft and occasionally down to 9 kft. The greatest and longest lived snowfall accumulations occurred above 12 kft, where an estimated 6-12 inches of very wet high density snow exists.
Following the storms departure on June 15, very dry air produced a classic CO bluebird day across the alpine of RMNP (howling wolf soundtrack plays in the background).
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Click on weather chart or photos to enlarge.
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Dreamweaver Couloir on the north face of Mt. Meeker should be in prime condition this weekend- get there early or get in line!
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The Upcoming Week
Yet another vigorous late season storm will move out of the Pacific Northwest and trek across the northern Rockies on Thu. June 17. However, this time the cold moist wintery weather will remain well to the north of RMNP.
Temperatures will cool some, but the main weather story will be the wind. Gusts are forecast to exceed 50 mph above treeline, as a mountain wave response sets up under the favorable southern flank of the jet stream.
As another trough of low pressure establishes itself across the western US, warm and dry southwest flow will set up over CO on Friday. This will squash the thunderstorm risk during the afternoon, and will allow strong radiational cooling to firm up the alpine snow during the night and early morning hours.
A forecasted increase in low level moisture along the Front Range high plains by late Saturday and into Sunday may produce some afternoon convective cloudiness over the eastern sections of The Park.
A weak system will move over the area on early Mon. June 21, but only some slight cooling and perhaps a brief boost in the wind speeds are expected. No precipitation is currently forecast over RMNP through next Wed. June 23.
Happy summer solstice to all!
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The weekend weather forecast.
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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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