Today’s Forecast:
Fire danger will be extreme today across the viewing area due to high winds, single-digit humidity, and grasses that have seen little to no rain or snow throughout March.
Red Flag Warnings are in effect today from 11 am through 8 pm. A combination of strong winds and relative humidity as low as 8% means if a grass fire were to start, it would spread quickly and become very hard to control.
High Wind Warnings are in effect through 8 pm tonight with wind gusts in the 50 to 70 mph range. Across the plains and valleys gusts will generally be 40 to 60 mph, but up higher in the Wet Mountains and Sangre De Cristos we could see 70 to 80 mph speeds. Isolated power loss, tree damage, and difficulty for semi-trucks driving north/south is the main travel concern today.
Temperatures will be very warm with highs in the 60s and 70s this afternoon with dry skies locally. Snow showers will move into the Continental Divide this afternoon and continue through Friday.
Colorado Springs forecast: High: 66; Low: 30. Mostly sunny, extremely windy, and dry with critical fire danger from 11 am through 8 pm tonight. Wind gusts will be in the 50 mph range citywide with stronger gusts near the foothills and higher elevations in town.
Pueblo forecast: High: 73; Low: 32. Sunny, warm, and extremely windy with daytime wind gusts in the 50 mph range. Fire danger will be extreme from 11 am through 8 pm tonight.
Canon City forecast: High: 63; Low: 34. Mostly sunny, extremely windy, and warm with wind gusts in the 40 to 50 mph range. Fire danger remains high today from 11 am through 8 pm tonight.
Woodland Park forecast: High: 50; Low: 21. Mostly sunny, very windy, and mild with elevated daytime fire danger. Wind gusts could be as high as 50 to 60 mph through the afternoon.
Tri-Lakes forecast: High: 60s; Low: 20s. Mostly sunny, very windy, and warm with high fire danger and very strong winds. Wind gusts will be in the upper 50 mph range.
Plains forecast: High: 70s; Low: 30s. Sunny, very windy, and dry with extreme fire danger and limited daytime visibility from blowing dust. Wind gusts will be in the 40 to 50 mph range through the afternoon.
Walsenburg and Trinidad forecast: High: 70s; Low: 30s. Sunny and extremely windy with gusts in the 50 to 60 mph range. Wind restrictions will be possible from CDOT for high-profile vehicles in the afternoon.
Mountains forecast: High: 50s; Low: 20s. Windy across all of the mountains today with gusts in the 60 to 75 mph range. Snow will move into the Continental Divide this afternoon and continue in waves through Friday evening.
Extended outlook forecast:
Friday will be another extreme fire danger day even after the passing of a cold front tonight. Wind gusts will stay strong, generally in the 40 to 50 mph range across the plains with more low humidity. Snow showers will continue out west in the mountains but we will stay dry locally.
The weekend will be breezy to windy with increasing temperatures through Sunday and Monday.
Next week will likely start with high fire danger as the winds look really strong on both Monday and Tuesday.
____
Curious about the First Alert 5 Weather Storm Impact Scale? Check out our cheatsheet explainer.
Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.
