For 1/5/09: The gap we saw between systems through Sunday will extend into this morning but look for high clouds to build through the early afternoon with snow on tap tonight. Today will be a classic scenario for layers with sunny skies early giving way to mostly cloudy conditions and gusting winds.

Temperatures will be challenging call through this week but the cold associated with this first round will fix the inversion for the lower valleys. Last night we saw the opposite with Crested Butte reporting a low of -5 degrees this morning while Gunnison only hit 3 degrees. Daytime highs will climb to the 20’s today and most of the week but the inversion forming over capped valleys into tomorrow could reduce them to the low teens. Look for overnight lows hovering around 0 for all but the lower valleys through the middle of the week with readings well below 0 for the valley floors through Wednesday.

Tuesday will likely present the best chance for snow for us this week but the dynamics of this next system and trajectory don’t generally favor our area. We will likely be reduced to a few inches of accumulation as the system clears through Wednesday with high gusting winds keeping everything moving quickly. Stay tuned for updates as the pattern settles through today.

Look for a complete Crested Butte and Gunnison weather report, 24 hour trends and real time weather information now available at WWW.CBTV.TV.