Today’s Forecast:
A Spring storm has its sights on Colorado with a mix of heavy rain, isolated strong storms, and heavy snow.
Rain and thunderstorms are expected in the afternoon, first in the mountains then east through the plains. Isolated strong to severe storms are possible in Otero, Bent, Prowers, Las Animas, and Baca counties today.
Rain will transition to snow after 6 pm tonight, starting first in the mountains and falling to around 6,000 feet by 10 pm. Pueblo MIGHT see snow by Wednesday morning, but most of the precip for eastern Fremont and Pueblo counties will be rain.
Very heavy snow is expected in the Pikes Peak Region as well as the eastern mountains, such as the Wet Mountains. Colorado Springs will see a snow range of 2 to 6 inches through the center of town, with even more snow on the north and west sides of the city. Teller County could see roughly 1 to 2 feet of snow through Wednesday with the Wet Mountains between 1 to 3 feet.
This snow will be laden with moisture, meaning it will physically be very heavy. Downed tree limbs and power lines are expected from this storm with extremely difficult or impossible travel at elevations of 7,000 feet or higher tonight and tomorrow morning.
Colorado Springs forecast: High: 52; Low: 31. Rain and thunderstorms in the afternoon with snow overnight through Wednesday. Rain will start to change into snow by 6 pm and we won't stop seeing snow until early Wednesday afternoon. Broadly, Colorado Springs should expect 2 to 6 inches on elevated surfaces, with melting and compaction on the ground.
Pueblo forecast: High: 59; Low: 34. Rain and thunderstorms in the afternoon with more heavy rain overnight. Flooding is possible in Pueblo today, especially in low lying areas of the city that have historically flooded in heavy rain events. Snow is possible overnight and Wednesday morning, but any accumulation would be under an inch and mostly on elevated surfaces.
Canon City forecast: High: 58; Low: 37. Rain and thunderstorms in the afternoon with a mix of rain and snow overnight. If we do see snow tonight or Wednesday morning, accumulations would be low, generally less than 2 inches on elevated surfaces.
Woodland Park forecast: High: 45; Low: 25. Rain and a few rumbles of thunder in the afternoon before heavy snow tonight and tomorrow. Rain should turn to snow sometime after 3 pm today with 12 to 24 inches (1-2 feet) generally across Teller County through Wednesday afternoon.
Tri-Lakes forecast: High: 40s; Low: 20s. Rain with some rumbles of thunder in the afternoon with snow tonight and tomorrow. Rain will turn to snow generally after 4 pm today with heavy snow accumulations through Wednesday at lunchtime. A general 10 to 16 inches of snow is possible for the Tri-Lakes area as well as Black Forest.
Plains forecast: High: 50s/60s; Low: 30s. Rain and thunderstorms this afternoon, some of which could be strong to severe. A marginal severe outlook is in place along and south of Highway 50 this afternoon with gusty winds, lots of lightning, and a small chance for quarter-sized hail as the main storm threats. Heavy rain will fall tonight and tomorrow with localized flooding as a possibility along the Highway 50 corridor.
Walsenburg and Trinidad forecast: High: 50s; Low: 30s. Rain and thunderstorms in the afternoon with snow after 10 pm tonight. Snow showers will be lighter south of Aguilar, but things could still be slick around Trinidad Wednesday morning.
Mountains forecast: High: 40s; Low: 20s. Really heavy snow is expected for the eastern mountains and valleys today and tonight. Rain will quickly turn to snow at elevations at and above 8,000 feet this afternoon with a general 1 to 3 inches for the Wet Mountains and portions of the Front Range. Travel in and around the mountains could be impossible from heavy snow at times tonight and early tomorrow.
Extended outlook forecast:
Wednesday morning will be a mess with areas of heavy snow, impossible travel on mountain roads, and heavy rain with localized flooding. The storm will slow down Wednesday afternoon, but we'll see travel impacts most of the day.
Thursday is going to be dry and sunny with warmer weather. Scattered snow showers are possible Friday morning, but totals look pretty light at this point in time.
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Curious about the First Alert 5 Weather Storm Impact Scale? Check out our cheatsheet explainer.
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