Marty’s Saturday Morning Forecast – Chilly Start – 12/18/2021
Overview: We’re tracking a couple of chilly nights with warmer air and wind returning soon.
Today: Chilly this morning under a sunny sky. Temperatures will be slow to warm over the plains today, but the wind won’t be as noticeable. Over the mountains the air may warm a little faster, but it may also be a bit breezy at times. Mostly sunny this afternoon with high temperatures reaching the 30s to near 40 over the plains, mainly 30s for our local mountain communities and the high mountain valleys. Where the breeze picks up this afternoon it could be running between 10 and 15 mph with a few gusts to near 20, which doesn’t sound too bad, but in the chilly air it will likely be noticeable where it materializes.
Tonight: Mostly clear and chilly again with low temperatures in the single digits and teens for most areas, but the high mountain valleys will fall well below zero again. The air may begin warming slowly prior to dawn over and near the mountains.
Sunday: Mostly sunny and warmer with high temperatures reaching the 40s and 50s. Becoming breezy for more areas during the afternoon with the stronger gusts mainly over the southeastern corner of the state and typically windy locations over and near the mountains.
Extended: Next week looks mostly sunny, dry, and generally warmer for the plains, although we’ll need to track the western extent of a shallow layer of cold air sliding over the Great Plains late Monday into early Tuesday as it could cool our eastern most areas briefly. Another shallow layer of colder air may affect more parts of eastern Colorado on Wednesday at the very least resulting in a cooler start to the day. Starting Wednesday, some snow may begin to fall over the mountains along and west of the Continental Divide, possibly bringing the ski resorts a little fresh snow for a couple of days. There will be periods of wind locally during the week which could lead to conditions becoming favorable for the spread of wildfires over parts of the area as well.
