From a couple of weeks ago…a hummingbird levitates over our outdoor deck flowers. © 2022-Mark Langford
Wednesday – 19 Oct 2022 – 1pm
The past…
At Stevens Field the high yesterday was 61 and the low this morning was 31. Humidity yesterday afternoon bottomed out at 32%. Winds at the airfield hit 11mph yesterday.
Precipitation summary… There was no precipitation to summarize from yesterday!
Forecast discussion…
No change from yesterday…nice fall weather ahead through Friday as high pressure has invaded our area. Morning lows will generally be in the 20’s and low 30’s while highs will edge up to the 60’s. Some of the fog prone areas may see more fog over the next couple of days in the morning.
We are still on track for a major change on Saturday as very strong trough will dig into the Pacific NW, sending down several short waves, a strong cold front and very good odds for precipitation. Look for rapidly changing weather starting on Saturday as our mid-level winds shift into the SW and moisture begins to flow into our area. As the front approaches for an early Sunday morning arrival, surface winds will increase to 10-20mph with some gusts over 25mph on Friday afternoon, then gusts possibly over 30mph for Saturday afternoon and 40mph on Sunday. While there is a chance for rain on Saturday afternoon, our best odds for snow and rain will be early Sunday through early Monday. It will be a wet, very windy and cold Sunday with the potential for 1-2 feet of snow in the mountains and even the chance for several inches of snow in the valley. I expect mainly rain on Sunday in the morning, changing over to snow by late in the afternoon as snow levels drop to around 7000 feet by Sunday night. The mountains will see snow starting late on Saturday through Monday morning, with a few snow showers lingering during the day. There will also be a chance for thunderstorms and thunder snow on Sunday!
Temperatures on Sunday will only reach the 40’s, then drop to the upper teens to low 20’s on Monday and Tuesday morning.
As of today, I am forecasting 12-18 inches of snow for Wolf Creek ski area, 2-4 inches for 7500-8000 feet and 1-2 inches for 7000-7500 feet. Snow will fall in the mountains from Saturday night through Monday and Pagosa Springs from Sunday afternoon through Monday morning.
If you can plan “not” to travel over Wolf Creek pass on Sunday and Sunday night, I would certainly do so. It would not surprise me to see weather watches and advisories issued for elevations above 9000 feet for Sunday and early Monday.
My forecast…
Pagosa Springs historical data
| Average High | Record High / Year | Average Low | Record Low / Year |
| 63 | 79 / 1991 | 25 | 10 / 1976 |
Check out my Pagosa Peak Cam (myearthcam.com) for watching hikers, bikers and of course, the weather.
-Mark Langford
