For 12/3/09: For Today: The northern low pressure trough has succeeded in bringing us cold air while the snow has been very scattered. We are waking up to clear and cold conditions this morning with some residual cloud cover visible on the regional radar but skies will remain mostly sunny. Any cloud cover will hold on the higher terrain with drier conditions moving in.

Overnight lows were very cold valley wide with Crested Butte reporting -12 degrees this morning while Gunnison checked in at -11 degrees. Daytime highs will struggle to climb above 15 degrees for all elevations as this cold air gets trapped in the valleys. Look for another cold overnight low tonight as the clear skies allow for significant radiational cooling.

We are headed for some big changes in the western weather pattern starting Sunday with heavy snow possible through the beginning of next week but in the interim we can expect clear cold conditions. Friday will be slightly warmer but not by much. The cold air will be a necessary component to getting the snow to fall so layer up as you head outside and think snow.

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