Date: 01/25/2018

Here comes the southwest flow. From mid-morning through tonight expect warm and gusty pre-frontal southwest winds ushering in high clouds in advance of a brief shot at some snow tonight. The weather models have changed their solution on this system repeatedly, but this morning they are suggesting a small overnight surprise for Irwin and Paradise Divide and a few flakes around the rest of the zone. By mid-morning Friday the system will have moved on leaving us with a thin veneer of fresh white paint.

• Today

  High Temperature: 35
  Winds/Direction: 15-25, Southwest
  Sky Cover: Increasing clouds
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 10
  Winds/Direction: 15-25, gusting 40, Southwest
  Sky Cover: Overcast
  Irwin Snow: 3 to 5″
  Elkton Snow: 2 to 4″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 1 to 2″

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 15
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20, West
  Sky Cover: Decreasing clouds
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

Date: 01/24/2018

A ridge of high pressure will pass overhead this afternoon, bringing a few high clouds to this otherwise gorgeous and cool day. On the backside of the ridge, a southwest flow will take hold tonight into tomorrow, ushering in warmer air and more clouds on Thursday and Friday, but unfortunately no snow.

• Today

  High Temperature: 25
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20, West
  Sky Cover: Mostly Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 15, colder in the valleys
  Winds/Direction: 5 to 15, Southwest
  Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 30
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20, gusting to 40, Southwest
  Sky Cover: Increasing clouds
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

Date: 01/23/2018

You can always tell when high pressure regains its influence over the Gunnison Valley as the inversions re-establish. This morning we saw -16 here in town, and 5 degrees up at CBMR. For the next few days, expect gentle westerly flow to bring clear skies and a day over day warming trend Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

• Today

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

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 10, colder in the valley floor
  Winds/Direction: 5 to 15, Northwest
  Sky Cover: Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 28
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20, West
  Sky Cover: Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

Date: 01/22/2018

A proper cold storm, wind, and enough snow to keep from feeling let down. We will take it! Temperatures this morning are frigid and those biting winds will be subsiding slowly throughout the day. Clouds will linger across the higher elevations and eventually clear as drier air moves into our area. We will feel a slow rebound in high temperatures each day this week, with sunny skies and dry air dominating. Our next shot of snow looks like Thursday night into Friday. Still a ways out, so strength of this storm is uncertain.

• Today

  High Temperature: 20
  Winds/Direction: 10-20/NW
  Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: -6
  Winds/Direction: 5-15/NW
  Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 25
  Winds/Direction: 5-15/NW
  Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

Date: 01/21/2018

The current low-pressure storm impacting the area remains interesting to watch in how it’s going to pan out, as confidence isn’t high on which way it’s going to go. The low pressure is moving right through central Colorado today. This makes the wind forecast a bit more difficult, and how much those wind directions are going to contribute local orographic lift. Will the right wind directions set up before the atmosphere starts drying out behind this low-pressure system? We will see. A cold front moving in with this system will help keep the precipitation intensity up this morning at least, and will keep the high temperature from creeping up much today. We’ll see clouds breaking up tonight and into tomorrow before a little blip in the weather Monday night with increasing clouds and maybe a flurry. By Tuesday we’ll be back in a high-pressure ridge taking us into the rest of the week.

• Today

  High Temperature: 15
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20/NNW
  Sky Cover: Overcast
  Irwin Snow: 6 to 9
  Elkton Snow: 5 to 8
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 3 to 5

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 0
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 21/NW
  Sky Cover: Increasing clouds
  Irwin Snow: 0 to 1
  Elkton Snow: 0 to 1
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0 to 1

• Tomorrow

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

Date: 01/20/2018

The warm before the storm! Expect warm, windy and overcast skies today, ahead of a decent storm arriving this evening. The low pressure storm system is currently tracking across the Great Basin, bringing with it modest moisture, high winds and much colder temperatures for the days ahead. The storm looks to hang up on the Uintas and stall, delaying its arrival until after sunset. The Elk mountains should do fairly well in this increasingly cold northwest flow, with 4-8” looking like a good bet, but some uncertainty exists. Don’t stress if you see a few sprinkles before the flakes fly, we should see primarily snow (the fact I even have to write that sentence does cause me stress for mid-January though!)…Sunday, the storm departs quickly, and cold, somewhat unsettled weather remains into the work week, with a few small disturbances trying to produce some moisture. Another more significant storm looks possible for next weekend.

• Today

  High Temperature: 36
  Winds/Direction: 20-30 G50/SW
  Sky Cover: Increasing clouds
  Irwin Snow: 1-3″ PM
  Elkton Snow: 1-3″ PM
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0-2″

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 15
  Winds/Direction: 15-25/WSW
  Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 4-8″
  Elkton Snow: 4-6″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 2-4″

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 18
  Winds/Direction: 10-20
  Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 2-4″
  Elkton Snow: 1-3″
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 1-3″

Date: 01/19/2018

We will see the beginnings of a change in the weather this afternoon. Warm, mild southwest flow will dominate today, bringing high clouds and balmy temperatures to our forecast area. The much anticipated storm system seems to continue to stall in the last 48hrs worth of model runs. This system will bring strong winds ahead of the precipitation, as well as rain/snow line considerations as high as potentially 9500ft. before the cold front sweeps across Colorado just after sunset tomorrow. Once the cold front (finally) moves through  Saturday evening, winds will shift dramatically, bringing significant snowfall. Looking like a hot and heavy 3-6” with the cold front and another 3-5” Sunday. The possibility exists once again that cold, northwest flow treats those certain areas near Kebler and Schofield Passes right, and snowfall exceeds the forecast numbers currently.

• Today

  High Temperature: 38
  Winds/Direction: 10-20 G 30/WSW
  Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 15
  Winds/Direction: 10-20/SSW
  Sky Cover: Increasing clouds
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 36
  Winds/Direction: 10-20/SW
  Sky Cover: Increasing clouds
  Irwin Snow: 1-3″PM
  Elkton Snow: 1-3″PM
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0-2″ PM

Date: 01/18/2018

Today is our last day of high pressure before the ridge axis shifts east and we fall under the influence of an approaching trough of low pressure for the weekend. This approaching trough is currently just off the Pacific Coast, and as it comes onshore tomorrow, we can expect strong southwest pre-frontal winds and an increase in clouds Friday night. Saturday afternoon into the evening looks like it will be our best window of precipitation during this storm, though snow showers should linger into Sunday.

• Today

  High Temperature: 37
  Winds/Direction: 5 to 15, Northwest
  Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 20, colder in the valley
  Winds/Direction: 5 to 15, West
  Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 39
  Winds/Direction: 10 to 20, gusting to 30, Southwest
  Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

Date: 01/17/2018

High pressure will carry us through tomorrow, keeping Crested Butte under a light northerly flow and some high thin clouds. By Thursday night, the ridge of high pressure will be to our east and we’ll see a strong southwest flow in advance of a weekend storm. This morning the models have slowed the timing of this storm, meaning it looks like the snow will begin on Saturday into Sunday.

• Today

  High Temperature: 30
  Winds/Direction: 5 to 15, North
  Sky Cover: Mostly Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 15, colder in the valleys
  Winds/Direction: 5 to 15, North
  Sky Cover: Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 38
  Winds/Direction: 5 to 15, Northwest
  Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

Date: 01/16/2018

A long narrow ridge of high pressure sits just to our west this morning, extending from Arizona to the Canadian Rockies. This ridge will keep us under a light northwest to north flow today, tonight and tomorrow. Our next shot at snow looks like Friday night, so until then double up on the sunscreen.

• Today

  High Temperature: 25
  Winds/Direction: 5 to 15, Northwest
  Sky Cover: Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tonight

  Low Temperature: 10, colder in the valley floor
  Winds/Direction: 5 to 15, Northwest
  Sky Cover: Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0

• Tomorrow

  High Temperature: 30
  Winds/Direction: 5 to 10, North
  Sky Cover: Mostly Clear
  Irwin Snow: 0
  Elkton Snow: 0
  Friend’s Hut Snow: 0