A strong and complex winter storm is expected to begin Monday with high winds and temperatures and a possible mix of snow and rain affecting the Steamboat area, according to local meteorologist Mike Weissbluth.

In his Sunday afternoon forecast posted to SnowAlarm.com, Weissbluth explained the Monday weather will be followed by a cold front arriving early Tuesday, accompanied by possible snow squalls and difficult driving conditions lasting throughout the day.

Snow accumulations are expected to leave 10-20 inches at the Steamboat Ski Resort by Wednesday morning — with half of that amount expected to fall in downtown Steamboat Springs — and temperatures will hover around zero degrees.

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The complexities of the forecast stem from two storms: one building from “an eddy of low pressure currently located off the coast of central California” and the other coming from “an intensifying and cold storm” moving southeastward through the Gulf of Alaska, according to Weissbluth’s Sunday forecast.

“Both storms are attended by atmospheric rivers, with the eddy grabbing moisture from (the area) near Hawaii in the so-called Pineapple Express,” Weissbluth added.

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According to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, atmospheric rivers can vary greatly in size and strength but, on average, they carry “an amount of water vapor roughly equivalent to the average flow of water at the mouth of the Mississippi River.”

The Pineapple Express designation refers to a strong atmospheric river “because moisture builds up in the tropical Pacific around Hawaii and can wallop the U.S. and Canada’s west coasts with heavy rainfall and snow,” according to the national weather agency.

Weissbluth said Sunday that forecast models are struggling with how the two building storms will interact, “but right now at least a piece of the eddy is forecast to merge with the very cold Gulf of Alaska Storm” on Monday, bringing cloudy skies early in the day and winds as high as 30 mph, with gusts reaching up to 60 mph from the west and southwest.

Weissbluth said Tuesday will bring snowfall rates of 1-2 inches per hour into the afternoon, with decreasing winds excepted as the snow piles up overnight into Wednesday, when temperatures will be around 25 degrees Fahrenheit.

The local meteorologist said favorable northwest winds and lingering moisture could leave another 1-4 inches overnight into Thursday, with temperatures expected to be in the high 30s and low 40s by the end of the week.

Meanwhile, Weissbluth said another “large and cold storm” is expected to form in the Gulf of Alaska by midweek, but the system would likely not bring precipitation to the area until late in the weekend or early the following week.

“Enjoy the weather whiplash to start the work week,” Weissbluth wrote in his Sunday forecast.

Mike Weissbluth is a local meteorologist who posts twice-weekly local weather forecasts and narratives to his website, SnowAlarm.com, on Sunday and Thursday afternoons. Go to SnowAlarm.com for more information and to sign up to receive the forecasts directly to your inbox.