Date: 12/10/2017

The Gunnison Valley Ice Skating Coalition and Crested Butte Ice Climbers for 2018 Club, continue to support a blocking ridge of high pressure over the Western half of the US. These two organizations will look forward to the continued dry weather through the foreseeable future. We can let the GVISC and CBICC have their weather that supports nice ice formation, but I hear the Big Bad Backcountry Skiers For Slate River Powder, are really working for a weather change and have something up their sleeve. Don’t forget to donate to the BBBSFSRP group because we really need some powder!
Low temperatures are again inverted this morning with valley lows near zero and 11,000ft temperatures in the 20’s. These temperatures should rebound nicely today and the clear sky will allow that beautiful Colorado sun to keep warming the sole.

• Today

  High Temperature: 35
  Winds/Direction: 5-15/W
  Sky Cover: Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tonight

  High Temperature: 20
  Winds/Direction: 5 to 15/W
  Sky Cover: Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 38
  Winds/Direction: 5 to 15/W
  Sky Cover: Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

Date: 12/09/2017

The classic winter inversion is in place this morning with temperatures near Crested Butte flirting with 0ºF, while higher elevation weather stations report temperatures at 6am closer to 20ºF. Another day of clear skies and bright sun are in store, with light winds at higher elevations blowing from the west. Keep the faith, the pattern will break down, but this persistent ridge of high pressure remains in place for the foreseeable future.

• Today

  High Temperature: 33
  Winds/Direction: 5-15/WNW
  Sky Cover: Mostly Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tonight

  High Temperature: 12
  Winds/Direction: 5-15/W
  Sky Cover: Mostly Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 35
  Winds/Direction: 5-15/W
  Sky Cover: Mostly Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

Date: 12/08/2017

Temperatures are 20 degrees warmer than yesterday morning, as northwest winds have fought off frigid inversions under clear skies. Same weather, different day as the impressive ridging along the Pacific coast hangs tough and sends all moisture clear up into the Yukon and away from the western United States. Expect more sun, and breezy northwesterly winds above timberline. We will see a gradual warm up over the next several days, with no precipitation in sight.

• Today

  High Temperature: 25-30
  Winds/Direction: 10-15/N
  Sky Cover: Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tonight

  High Temperature: 10
  Winds/Direction: 5-15/NNW
  Sky Cover: Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 30-35
  Winds/Direction: 5-15/NW
  Sky Cover: Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

Date: 12/07/2017

That was a chilly night; the coldest of the season so far for our alpine terrain. Under the influence of the North winds, our temperature inversion broke down last night, with sub-zero temps measured up high and low’s in the single digits around the valley floor.
This cooling pattern will continue throughout the day, and the North winds will blow stronger than what we’ve seen all week as this Northerly jet stream slides overhead. This same North flow will build clouds over the high peaks, maybe even dropping a snowflake or two over the Divide or the upper Brush Creek zones. Rest assured, the Pacific coast deflector shield remains intact, and tomorrow we’ll be back to mostly clear skies and start into a gradual warming trend to carry us through the weekend.

• Today

  High Temperature: 10
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20, gusting to 40, North
  Sky Cover: Increasing clouds
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tonight

  High Temperature: 5
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20, gusting to 40, North
  Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 20
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20, gusting to 50, North
  Sky Cover: Mostly Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

Date: 12/06/2017

It’s pretty simple. Cool, and dry for the foreseeable future. This afternoon and through tomorrow, we’ll see a few clouds and an increase in winds as a small arctic blip strafes over the Front Range.

Bottom line, our deflector shield of high pressure parked over the Pacific coast remains operational. This anomalous ridge on the left coast coupled with a deep digging trough of low pressure over the Midwest will keep the north flow pouring down on the Rockies and Crested Butte today, and tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after…

Have you ever seen Edvard Munch’s painting The Scream? Well that’s what the atmosphere over the Pacific looks like right now.

Date: 12/05/2017

The little storm that blew is now well in our rearview mirror, having left behind seasonably chilly temps and not much else. In the short term, we can expect light North winds, clear skies and growing inversions, meaning warmer temps up high and colder temps in the valley floors as the cold air sinks.
Looking further ahead, we’re in for a dry spell. Or as the National Weather Service put it, the high pressure now covering the western US “spells doom for Pacific moisture reaching inland.” Long-range weather models show this giant deflector shield in the sky protecting us from any pesky snowflakes for at least the next week. Looking towards this weekend, as Emperor Palpatine of Star Wars said: “Oh, I’m afraid the deflector shield will be quite operational when your friends arrive.”

Date: 12/04/2017

The 2018 December drying out phase has begun as last nights low-pressure system is heading east. Temperatures have returned to near normal for this time of year, ya that’s way colder then what we’ve been used to lately. Last nights strong winds are on the decrease this morning as well. Clouds will dissipate through the day with a few potentially lingering clouds along the crest of the Ruby Range towards Paradise Divide. The extended December forecast is looking dry with very a small chance of a very small storm later in the week.

Date: 12/03/2017

Currently on Sunday morning conditions are still calm with thin clouds and mild temperatures but that’s all about to change later today. A low-pressure system moving into the northwest US this morning will be passing to our north through tomorrow afternoon. The big news for us with this system will be the winds. Pressure gradients are going to tighten as this trough dips into Colorado with wind gusts exceeding 50mph in the mountains. Those southwest winds will build this afternoon and peak this evening. A cold front will also drastically drop temperatures for the coming day. As it passes this evening we will see a quick burst of snow. The typical snow favored spots in the Kebler Pass and Paradise Divide areas could pick up 4-5” of snow overnight but these areas will be right on the southern edge of the snow forecast, so confiding is low. Conditions will mellow through the day tomorrow as we stare down a dry extended forecast for the week and beyond.