Gorgeous weekend ahead

Thursday, October 1, 2026

Temperatures in the low 70s and mostly sunny skies are over Steamboat Springs this Thursday mid-afternoon. The lovely weather will continue through the weekend, lasting through at least Monday.

High pressure over California will move slowly east through the weekend, crossing the Continental Divide around Monday. Mostly sunny skies will bring warming temperatures through the weekend, cresting 75 degrees by Sunday, around 10 degrees above our declining 65-degree average.

The NOAA smoke model shows wildfire smoke from the Dome fire near Yosemite, which started September 15th, approaching our area by Saturday morning, with hazy skies possible, but not certain.

Steamboat Springs	Observed precipitation	Average precipitation
May	3.51”	2.65”
June	0.43”	1.58”
July	2.24”	1.72”
August	2.77”	1.80”
September	3.07”	2.32”
Total	12.02”	10.07”

The quiet forecast allows some space to discuss the relatively wet summer from May through September, though most people I talk to are surprised to hear we were not well below average, as they remember the July and August heat more than the precipitation. And hot it was, with the 29 days of 90-degree-or-above temperatures this summer tying the record set in 2002.

July had 17 days at or above 90 degrees, including a scorching stretch of 11 days between July 11th and July 21st, contributing to the hottest month ever since record-keeping started in 1893, and an additional 12 days in August. But that did not stop some showers, some intense and some more gentle and long-lasting, from bringing a foot of water from May through September to the town, 20% above the 10” average, as indicated in the table.

October will start warm and dry, with a small chance of some showers appearing around Tuesday. So enjoy the gorgeous weekend, highlighted by the stunning colors of the changing foliage, and I’ll have more details on the possible incoming storm and the likely return to dry, warm weather for the rest of the workweek, which may last through the following weekend.