Tomer’s Take: The large plume of thick wildfire smoke has moved out of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. It’s moving east. What’s next? The afternoon thunderstorm pattern continues across the Intermountain West along with a rich moisture feed.
The smoke has cleared! Look at this before/after showing much clearer view from Arapahoe Basin looking West-Southwest (5/22 vs 5/25):
Forecast Smoke
Below is the RAP smoke forecast valid 5/25-5/27, vertically integrated smoke field.
Rich Moisture
We’re seeing extra moisture in the atmosphere across the Intermountain West. This helps fuel afternoon thunderstorms. I’m forecasting afternoon thunderstorms through the end of May. Below is forecast precipitable water percentage of normal deviation valid 5/26. The green/blue represent 100-200% of normal.
Forecast Wind Gusts, Summit-level
Quandary Peak, CO, Summit-level Max Gusts:
5/25: 15-20mph
5/26: 25mph
5/27: 30mph
5/28: 20mph
5/29: 20-25mph
Longs Peak, CO:
5/25: 25mph
5/26: 25mph
5/27: 20mph
5/28: 25mph
5/29: 25mph
Mount Superior, UT:
5/25: 30mph
5/26: 25mph
5/27: 30mph
5/28: 25mph
5/29: 30mph
Grand Teton, WY:
5/25: 30mph
5/26: 30mph
5/27: 30mph
5/28: 20mph
5/29: 30mph