Tonight's Forecast:
The biggest storm of the season has its sights set on the I-25 corridor and High Plains this evening, with heavy snow and strong winds in the forecast. Conditions are expected to go downhill this evening, with the worst of the storm for Southern Colorado occurring during the overnight hours. That's when we'll see the best storm dynamics and upslope flow. By Wednesday morning, the flow will turn more northerly, and this dry downslope component coming off of the Palmer Divide will severely limit additional snowfall from Colorado Springs south to Pueblo, and east into the Plains (south of Hwy 50).
For the Palmer Divide, Teller County, Denver metro and northeast Plains, snow showers will remain in the forecast throughout the day Wednesday, and our latest snowfall totals forecast still reflects that these areas will be the hardest hit.
Colorado Springs forecast: Low: 23; High: 34; Windy and much colder on Wednesday for the Pikes Peak Region, with peak gusts from 30-40 mph through the late afternoon hours. Periodic snow showers will remain possible as well, but will be generally be focused for northern parts of town up through the Palmer Divide. Snow totals from 2-7".
Pueblo forecast: Low: 25; High: 40; A cloudy, cold and windy day for the Steel City, with peak gusts up to 40 mph. With the bulk of the storm missing us to the north, snow totals in Pueblo should be fairly light, from a trace to 2".
Canon City forecast: Low: 29; High: 40; Wednesday will be an overcast and windy day as storm energy continues to impact our forecast. Much like Pueblo, we won't see the worst part of this storm, with only a few additional light snow showers expected tomorrow. Snow totals from 1-3".
Woodland Park forecast: Low: 15; High: 27; With a Winter Weather Advisory in effect in Teller County until 5 pm, we're looking at a cold, snowy and windy 24 hours of weather. Being on the southern end of the worst part of the storm, snow totals here could range between 5-9", with major impacts to travel expected.
Tri-Lakes forecast: Low: 10s/20s; High: 20s; Northern El Paso County will be ground zero for the worst impacts in Southern Colorado over the next 24 hours. A Winter Storm Warning will remain in effect until 5 pm Wednesday, with snowfall totals easily reaching 7-11". On top of the snow, wind gusts to 45 mph on Wednesday will not only impact travel on the roads, but could lead to some serious snow drifts. Stay tuned for updates from First Alert 5 regarding potential road (I-25) and school closures.
Plains forecast: Low: 20s; High: 30s; Windy and cold, with snow for parts of the eastern Plains on Wednesday. The cut-off for the worst of the storm will be for areas to the north of the Arkansas River Valley. To the south, not much snow is expected. Areas to the north will remain under either a Winter Weather Advisory or a Winter Storm Warning until late Wednesday afternoon. Snow totals in Kiowa and Cheyenne counties will range between 1-6".
Walsenburg and Trinidad forecast: Low: 10s/20s; High: 20s/30s; A lot of wind, but not much snow for the southern I-25 corridor on Wednesday, with the main impacts from this storm expected to stay well to our north. That said, snow totals will be minimal here, between a trace and 2".
Mountains forecast: Low: 0s/10s; High: 10s/20s; Winter Storm Warnings will remain in effect until 11 am Wednesday for the San Juan Mountains, with Winter Weather Advisories in effect for the Sangres and San Luis Valley until very early Wednesday morning. By the afternoon, both the snow and wind are expected to lessen, leaving us with very cold temperatures by late Wednesday night.
Extended outlook forecast:
As the storm clears out Wednesday evening, we'll be left with mostly sunny skies and slightly warmer highs by Thursday. A weaker storm system will bring back the potential for a few flurries or light snow showers by Friday, with an additional storm still possible late this coming weekend.
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Curious about the First Alert 5 Weather Storm Impact Scale? Check out our cheatsheet explainer.
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