Today’s Forecast:
The first Red Flag Warning of the year was issued today for counties mostly south of Highway 50. There will be just enough wind and dry air to elevate fire conditions across the southern plains.
High Wind Warnings are in effect across our southern mountains and valleys with some of the strongest gusts in the Wet Mountains, Wet Mountain Valley, Sangre De Cristos, and San Luis Valley. It's in those areas that we could see gusts over 60 mph.
Downslope winds will quickly heat temperatures today with highs in the 50s and 60s across the plains.
Colorado Springs forecast: High: 62; Low: 28. Sunny, warm, and windy with gusts in the 30 mph range.
Pueblo forecast: High: 68; Low: 31. Sunny and very warm with gusts in the 30 mph range.
Canon City forecast: High: 64; Low: 35. Sunny and very windy with gusts in the 40 mph range.
Woodland Park forecast: High: 50; Low: 22. Sunny and windy with gusts in the 40 mph range. Grab a jacket for the wind if you're going to Cripple Creek for the Ice Festival.
Tri-Lakes forecast: High: 50s; Low: 20s. Sunny and windy with gusts in the 30 to 40 mph range.
Plains forecast: High: 60s; Low: 30s. Sunny, warm, and very windy with gusts in the 30 to 50 mph range mainly south of Highway 50. Fire danger is high for counties under Red Flag Warnings.
Walsenburg and Trinidad forecast: High: 60s; Low: 30s. Sunny and very windy with gusts in the 40 to 60 mph range. The strongest winds will be in the afternoon, especially at the foothills of the mountains.
Mountains forecast: High: 50s; Low: 20s. Very windy and dry for our local mountains with wind gusts over 60 mph for the Sangre De Cristos and Wet Mountains in the afternoon. Snow will start to fall across the Continental Divide this evening with heavy accumulations through Wednesday across the San Juan Mountains.
Extended outlook forecast:
Wednesday is going to be a tricky day with a strong cold front, strong winds, and blowing snow.
Blowing snow will fall in the morning from Denver through Colorado Springs, but lesser amounts are expected south of El Paso County until the afternoon. We will see banded snowfall Wednesday afternoon, some of which could lead to blizzard-like conditions in the plains.
Dry weather is expected on Thursday, but we'll stay cold and windy for most of the day.
Warmer weather is expected through the weekend with highs in the 50s on Saturday. A chance for rain/snow is possible on Sunday, but we're not locked into that possibility yet.
____
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.
