It’s the last day of winter, but snowpack on the ground continues to impact our weather. The snow acts like a refrigerator, trapping cold air near the surface. The high reflectivity of the snow also reflects the sun’s warming rays back into space, furthering the cooling process. The snow on the ground also allows temperatures to drop further at night, making recovery and warming during the day less effective. Snowpack contributes to inversions and the trapping of poor air as well. The snow is melting, just very slowly. As long as a deep snowpack persists, temperatures will stay much, much cooler than normal. No matter what, spring officially begins at 3:58pm on Wednesday. It will be another sunny day with below average temperatures in the 30s and 40s, with a few 50s west of the Continental Divide. Thursday will be a sunny, cool day. The first spring storm will unfortunately hit this weekend. Rain showers below 5000′ will increase through the state on Saturday afternoon. Sunday, snow levels will drop to around 3500-4000′, meaning more towns will have wet snowflakes flying. Mountain passes through the weekend will have a few inches of accumulation.
Please be aware of the likelihood of flooding heading through the next few weeks. With that significant snowpack, a frozen ground, and rising temperatures, the runoff will increase. If you live along a creek or river, or in a flood plain, take precautions now.
Soon it will be spring, officially.
Have a great day.
Curtis Grevenitz
