Tonight's Forecast:
Mostly clear skies will be the norm tonight across southern Colorado, with patchy mid-level clouds. It will be breezy for some, as a weak stationary boundary over the I-25 area divides downslope winds to its west - leading to relative warmth, with more of a variable wind direction to the east, leading to cooler temperatures. If you live west of I-25, particularly in the southern tier, you'll get moderate downslope breezes overnight that will rattle the trees around a bit and may wake you up if you're a light sleeper. Otherwise, no major weather issues on the evening horizon.
Colorado Springs forecast: Low: 20; High: 51;
Mostly clear tonight in the Olympic City which should lead to lows in the mid-teens to around 20 degrees. Winds out of the east tonight, light at 5-10 mph, shifting north overnight. Beautiful conditions on Monday with clear skies to start...clouds moving in late along with potential snow - see the extended forecast for details.
Pueblo forecast: Low: 19; High: 51;
Mostly clear with lows in the teens. They'll likely jump up before sunrise though as west winds develop overnight at 15-20 mph. This will lead to a clear morning and a great, mild afternoon.
Canon City forecast: Low: 28; High: 55;
Mostly sunny and quite pleasant to be out and about. There's a low end chance of a shower in the afternoon, but realistically the better odds are after dark. West downslope winds at 10-15 mph gusting to 35 mph.
Woodland Park forecast: Low: 25; High: 45;
Mostly clear with west winds - early at 10-15 mph, increasing overnight to 15-20 mph and gusting to 35 mph. You may hear the trees shaking outside of your window if you're a light sleeper. Monday is nice - but scattered snow showers are likely during the late afternoon.
Tri-Lakes forecast: Low: 20s; High: 40s;
Mostly clear with lows in the upper teens to lower 20s. West winds at 5-10 mph. Monday will be partly sunny with a chance of snow and rain showers beginning in late afternoon.
Plains forecast: Low: Teens; High: 30s/40s;
EXTREME COLD WATCH in effect from 5:00 PM Tuesday - 11:00 AM Thursday.
Partly cloudy. Southeast winds at 15-25 mph shifting southwest at 10-15 mph overnight. Monday will be partly sunny with a chance of snow in the afternoon.
Walsenburg and Trinidad forecast: Low: 32/33; High: 54/60;
Mostly clear. Winds west - and becoming gusty - overnight. After midnight, winds will be 20-30 mph, gusting to 40 mph. If you're a light sleeper, you'll likely hear the trees shaking around. This will lead to a relatively mild night, and temperatures likely warming considerably by sunrise ahead of a very comfortable (but windy) Monday.
Mountains forecast: Low: 20s; High: 40;
Mostly clear skies for the southern mountains with west winds at 10-20 mph gusting to 30 mph. Snow in the central and northern mountains with winter travel conditions.
Extended outlook forecast:
The main message: Get outside Monday if you can. It will be a complicated weather day - which we're used to here. Downslope winds in a classic warm before the storm setup will lead to mild highs along I-25 with breezes for most. But, over the eastern plains, winds will be upsloping. This will have a notable impact on temperatures. If you live along the Front Range close to the mountains, your temperatures will be mild. If further east, your temperatures will be cooler - the difference being 50s for highs where we see downslope breezes, and 30s/40s where we see upslope. Skies will start off mainly clear, with clouds increasing during the afternoon and evening across the region becoming mostly cloudy by evening. Scattered rain and snow showers will develop during the early evening Monday over the Palmer Divide into Teller County.
Weather whiplash - in the form of winter - returns with a vengeance Monday night. A cold front will move into southern Colorado from the east, associated with an area of polar air digging down into the middle of the country. Meanwhile, upper-level energy and moisture move in to provide a quick shot of snow to the region overnight into Tuesday morning. Expect some impacts to your Tuesday morning commute, particularly in the Pikes Peak Region and Teller County. In addition, expect cold temperatures Tuesday through Thursday. The coldest air will miss the I-25 corridor, as a large cold high pressure system sits over the middle of the country. But this air will graze the eastern plains - and Extreme Cold Watches are in place Tuesday night - Thursday morning for this reason for the eastern tier of counties in southern Colorado. If planning ahead - you should know that while this cold won't be as bad as our last two cold outbreaks, it still could be dangerous to be outside for extended periods of time Tuesday through Thursday.
But, in typical Colorado fashion, by the weekend, the pendulum swings the other way again - and temperatures soar back to the 50s.
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Curious about the First Alert 5 Weather Storm Impact Scale? Check out our cheatsheet explainer.
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