Today’s Forecast:
Weather alert today in southern Colorado with arctic air and snow late today and tonight.
The arctic air will move in from the north today, keeping Denver in the 20s but areas along and south of Highway 50 in the 40s! Temperatures will start to plummet as the arctic air moves south of the Palmer Divide in the afternoon.
Snow will follow the arctic air late today and tonight, but the totals will be very tricky. This system will be dependent on snow bands, narrow areas of heavy accumulation that are hard to predict and tend to surprise us.
We'll see the heaviest snow in the Pikes Peak Region around the evening commute with moderate to heavy snow more consistent overnight in the southern mountains and valleys.
The next wave of snow arrives Thursday afternoon and evening with the heaviest accumulations south of Highway 50.
Colorado Springs forecast: High: 34; Low: 4. Cold and cloudy today with strong winds and even colder air in the afternoon as arctic air slips south of the Palmer Divide. We should get snow to develop in the afternoon and persist into the overnight hours, decreasing by early Thursday morning. A second round of light snow will fall Thursday afternoon and evening, but with less accumulation than we see tonight.
Pueblo forecast: High: 40; Low: 6. Cloudy and chilly today but Pueblo should be able to warm above freezing before the arctic air arrives in the mid-afternoon. We'll get snow showers to develop by the end of the day with moderate to heavy accumulations overnight. A second wave of light snow will fall late Thursday through Thursday night but will less accumulation than we see tonight.
Canon City forecast: High: 39; Low: 8. Cloudy and chilly today with arctic air moving in late today and tonight. We'll see snow showers develop overnight with moderate to heavy snow by early Thursday morning. A second wave of snow will be possible Thursday afternoon and evening but with less accumulation than we see tonight.
Woodland Park forecast: High: 29; Low: -1. Cloudy and cold with snow showers late today and tonight. We'll see really cold temperatures tonight as the arctic air settles into the city with a second wave of light snow Thursday afternoon.
Tri-Lakes forecast: High: 40s; Low: 20s. Arctic air will hang around the Palmer Divide this morning and spill over the Divide into the Tri-Lakes area close to the lunch hour. We'll see really cold temperatures tonight with snow overnight through early Thursday morning. A second wave of light snow is possible Thursday afternoon through the evening.
Plains forecast: High: 40s; Low: >10. We'll see really widespread temperature differences in the plains today with highs in the 20s and 30s north of Highway 50 and 40s south of the highway. Snow showers will develop late today and tonight but fades through early Thursday morning. A second wave will fall late Thursday afternoon through the night with the heaviest snow south of Highway 50.
Walsenburg and Trinidad forecast: High: 40s; Low: >10. Arctic air will take a while to reach Walsenburg and Trinidad, so we'll see highs in the 40s before the temps drop into the single digits tonight. Snow showers will develop tonight and continue through Thursday morning. A second wave of snow will hit Thursday afternoon and evening. The two day totals in Walsenburg and Trinidad will be on the high side with even more snow west into La Veta Pass.
Mountains forecast: High: 30s; Low: >10. Snow will keep falling from the morning through the evening across the west and central mountains, spreading east into the Front Range, Wets, and Sangres through the overnight hours. We'll see moderate to heavy snow tonight with a second round of moderate to heavy snow through Thursday night.
Extended outlook forecast:
As explained above, our snow comes in two waves. The first is late today and tonight, and the second wave is Thursday.
Thursday's second wave of snow will mainly hit along and south of Highway 50. We'll see light snow showers or flurries in the Pikes Peak Region Thursday and Thursday night, but accumulations will be very low.
The snow will collect heavier Thursday night in the Wet Mountains, Wet Mountain Valley, and Sangre De Cristos down into the La Veta Pass region.
We'll shake off our arctic air by Friday afternoon and we'll get even warmer into the weekend!
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Curious about the First Alert 5 Weather Storm Impact Scale? Check out our cheatsheet explainer.
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