Roland Steadham

Another front will move into Western Idaho early Tuesday morning. This could easily bring another round of snow to the region. Please anticipate slippery roads for the morning commute. I expect to see the morning snow change over to a rain/snow mix in the afternoon. The valley should see an additional 1-3" of snow. The mountains could see an additional 5-10" of snow. High pressure will move in Wednesday. As a result, we'll see drier conditions with a mixture of sunshine and clouds that will continue through the weekend! Computer models have the storm track returning around the first of next week.

A mixture of rain and mostly snow will continue tonight across all of Western Idaho. Once this trough of low pressure moves through the area, drier air will fol

The giant ridge of high pressure that has given us this warm, spring pattern will continue through Wednesday. These highs will usually come and go this time of the year. But they are typically more transient. This one has been very persistent and typically more common with the month of May. If you'll recall, the beginning of March was active with many mountain locations getting 3-5 feet of new snow. Then, just like that, the switch was flipped and we went into massive high pressure mode. While this pattern is nice, it's not supposed to be this way for very long. We still need to be adding to the mountain snowpack.

A strong area of low pressure will move through the state over the next few days. This will bring rain and periods of thunderstorms to Western Idaho this evening and again on Thursday. Some of the thunderstorms could be severe in nature bringing gusty winds in excess of 50 mph and some hail. As colder air settles into the region, we could see a rain/snow mix in the Treasure Valley on Friday. By Saturday, the low will begin to slowly move east. However, we may still see a few, spotty showers around the area. Highs will cool into the 50's on Thursday and then down into the 40's on Friday and Saturday. Drier conditions are expected on Sunday with a mixture of clouds and sun. Next week looks sunny and warm as high pressure is expected to settle into the west once again.

Temperatures will get cooler through the night. Computer models are suggesting that the rain will change over to snow just prior to and around the morning commute! While I don't expect significant accumulations, just seeing snow can rain tensions on the road. So please allow yourself extra time in the morning to look out the window and assess weather conditions before hitting the road.

A fast moving cold front will race toward Western Idaho on Monday. This will bring some rain/snow showers to the mountains and maybe some spotty showers to the Treasure Valley. But, overall the biggest impact for the valley will be gusty winds behind the front of 30+ mph winds in the afternoon. This will also take our temperatures to cooler than normal readings as highs on Monday will only reach the mid 50's. This will be about 10-12 degrees below normal. The cool and breezy conditions will stick around on Tuesday with highs remaining in the mid 50's. Look for partly cloudy skies on Tuesday followed by sunny skies on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

We are going to hold onto a spring pattern for the next 5-7 days as the computer models are showing an active Jet Stream favoring the Western States. A mostly dry front will move into Western Idaho on Monday. This will bring partly cloudy skies and breezy/windy conditions to the area. Highs will only reach the mid 60's. We should be in the mid 70's this time of the year. Tuesday will be sunny and warmer with highs in the low 70's. However, a stronger front will move into the region on Wednesday. This will bring a much better chance of rain and possible thunderstorms with highs cooling into the 60's once again. The Treasure Valley will see a mixture of sunny to partly cloudy skies through Saturday.

Today was the warm before the storm which will bring rain during the early morning. Anticipate wet roads for the morning commute. Look for scattered showers and the potential for isolated thunderstorms through the day on Wednesday. Our high temperatures will dip to the upper 50's once again. On top of that, breezy to windy conditions are expected in the afternoon with the frontal passage. Sunny to partly cloudy skies are expected on Thursday and Friday with highs warming to near 70 degrees.

A big change is about to take place for all of Idaho as a significant trough of low pressure moves into the area on Monday. This will bring widespread rain to the area along with a few thunderstorms especially in the mountains. The steadiest rain will occur in the morning but scattered showers are possible in the afternoon. In fact, a Flood Watch has been issued by the National Weather Service for the mountain areas north of the Treasure Valley for Monday. Heavy-moderate rain combined with high elevation snowmelt and terrain induced thunderstorms Monday afternoon will cause locally much heavier rainfall. Flows in rivers may quickly increase and reach critical levels. There is potential for mud and rockslides.

Drier air will move into Western Idaho this evening as today's storm begins to move east. Now get ready for the opposite to occur as a large and strong area of high pressure settles into the entire west. This will bring lots of sunshine to the region that will easily stick around through Friday and possibly Saturday. The biggest thing you'll notice will be the rapid rise in temperatures. Look for highs to reach the mid 80's by Wednesday. Friday, Saturday and Sunday will bring highs in the 90's. In fact, by Saturday, the valley will see highs hitting the upper 90's. I wouldn't be surprised to see some areas close to 100 degrees! That will approach record levels for this time of the year. Overall, it looks like the pattern wants to stay hotter than normal through the first of next week.