Marine Weather and Tide Forecast for Sheridan, CO

DISCUSSION /Through Tuesday/
Issued at 227 PM MDT Tue Apr 14 2026

Water vapor satellite imagery shows the upper level trough tracking east across Utah. The trough will continue tracking eastward through tonight. Numerous showers and isolated thunderstorms will continue ahead of the trough. Rain and snow showers will taper off this evening over the higher terrain and along the Front Range as the trough shifts over northeast Colorado. The snow level will be between 7,000 and 8,000 feet MSL.
An additional 2 to 6 inches of snow is expected in the mountains.
The rain showers will linger through the night over the northeast plains. Locally, up to half an inch of rainfall is possible over the northeast plains under the deformation zone.

Cool northwest flow aloft will prevail Wednesday behind the exiting trough. High temperatures will reach the mid 60s to lower 70s across northeast Colorado. Flow aloft backs to the southwest Thursday ahead of the next storm system. This will bring warmer temperatures and continued dry conditions. South to southwest winds will increase as flow aloft increases and a surface low forms over Wyoming/northeast Colorado. The strongest winds, with gusts up to 40 mph, are expected over the mountains.  Over the plains, the stronger winds will be found south of I-70.

An upper level trough will track across the Central Rockies on Friday. Models are in good agreement that this trough will bring widespread light precipitation (less than half an inch) and cold temperatures. There are slight differences between the models regarding strength and timing, which could nudge amounts up or down. Precipitation may begin as rain across the plains, but the airmass quickly cools with snow expected Friday afternoon.
Temperatures at 700mb fall to -8 to -12C, which is plenty cold enough for snow. As previously discussed, precipitation amounts are generally expected to be light with snowfall amounts less than 3 inches across the plains. In addition to the needed precipitation, this system will be very cold. Overnight lows are expected to fall into the lower to mid 20s. Low lying areas will likely see colder temperatures, with readings in the 15 to 20 degree range. Saturday morning temperatures will be the coldest since mid March. Above-ground irrigation lines may be damaged Friday night and Saturday morning due to the hard freeze. It's best (safest) to disconnect hoses and drain above ground irrigation lines ahead of time.

The upper level trough shifts east of the region by Saturday morning, leaving a dry northwest flow aloft in its wake. After Saturday morning's cold start, temperatures climbed into the 50s across northeast Colorado. A little below average for this time of year.  Sunday through Tuesday, upper level ridging builds over the Central Rockies for Sunday and possibly into Monday. Once the ridge shifts east of the region late Monday or Tuesday, southwest flow aloft will prevail. All three days are expected to be warm and dry. Sunday will be the coolest with highs in the upper 60s to lower 70s. Slow warming continues early next week and by Tuesday highs over northeast Colorado are expected to reach the upper 70s to lower 80s. Windy conditions are not expected under this pattern, but if they occur, they would raise fire weather concerns.

AVIATION /18Z TAFS through 18Z Wednesday/
Issued at 1210 PM MDT Tue Apr 14 2026

Virga showers have been passing over/near all three TAF sites this morning. The chance for virga showers continues through this afternoon. These showers could cause gusty winds at all three sites- gusts could reach 20 to 25 kts with any of these outflows, mainly favoring a southerly component. As the afternoon progress, the lower atmosphere will start to moisten up as noted in model soundings leading to a chance for showers/precipitation reaching the ground. Have added in TEMPO and PROB30 groups from around 21z to 06z tonight to account for this possibility. There is a low chance (approximately 10%) for a thunderstorm, but CAPE values are expected to be low. Gusty winds between 20 and 30 kts will remain possible this afternoon. These shower chances will also bring the potential for lowering ceilings to near 6000 feet AGL, especially this evening.

Overnight, winds will become VRB before eventually become W to NW by tomorrow morning. A drainage component is possible, especially at KAPA. Cloud ceilings will rise as the night progresses with no ceiling issues expected after around 08z. Winds by tomorrow afternoon should be between 10 to 15 kts starting around 18z.

BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
Red Flag Warning until 8 PM MDT this evening for COZ247.