Today’s Forecast:
The first Saturday of December will be nice across southern Colorado with sunny skies, mild highs, and light winds all in the forecast today. High pressure remains the dominant weather feature today - this large area of calm weather is centered well off to our west. As we go through the day, this ridge will begin to flatten, leading to weak westerly downslope flow - enough to warm you up, not enough to really notice the breeze.
Colorado Springs forecast: High: 58; Low: 30.
Savor the sunshine today folks - quiet and very nice with highs peaking in the upper 50s region wide. Northwest winds this morning shifting west this afternoon - barely noticeable but the shift leads to weak compressional warming. Sunset tonight is at 4:37 PM.
Pueblo forecast: High: 60; Low: 24.
You'll be well above your normal high of 48 today in the steel city (but also far from your record of 76 for today)! This afternoon, expect wall-to-wall sunshine and light winds.
Canon City forecast: High: 61; Low: 28.
Sun, sun, and more sun. Nice bike ride weather this afternoon. Westerly light breezes from 5-10 mph throughout the day.
Woodland Park forecast: High: 51; Low: 26.
Sunny and comfortable with northwest winds in the morning shifting west this afternoon. For the first weekend of the month, not bad at all.
Tri-Lakes forecast: High: 50s; Low: 30s.
Sunny, mild, and quiet. Very light winds.
Plains forecast: High: Upper 50s/Low 60s; Low: 20s.
Sunny and comfortable with southwest winds at 5-10 mph.
Walsenburg and Trinidad forecast: High: 58/59; Low: 27/28.
Sunny and pleasant with west winds at 5-10 mph.
Mountains forecast: High: 40s; Low: 20s.
Sunny and nice - weak southwest winds at 5-10 mph.
Extended outlook forecast:
If you have been putting off putting up the lights, it's going to need to be today, tomorrow, or...really any day that isn't Monday and arguably Tuesday.
Sunday is another nice day but action is beginning to ramp up. High pressure will continue to weaken as a chunk of the jet stream moves overhead. Modest westerly downslope winds warm temperatures through the morning and we'll likely see highs in the upper 50s to perhaps 60 degrees early in the afternoon, ahead of a cold front. That front will bring in some mid level clouds, but no rain or snow showers. It'll also knock back temperatures...we'll see the numbers falling back to the 50s and 40s earlier than usual. If you're heading to the Manitou Christmas Parade for example, you can expect mainly clear skies...but temperatures in the 30s at 5:00PM. So, bring the hat and the gloves!
Monday is where all the focus is this week with our weather. I do expect accumulating snow Monday afternoon and night along and west of I-25, and not much east of it. The setup brings mid-level energy into the state during the morning which dives through the Front Range mountains and to the southern tier by the end of the day, followed by a second potent cold front that cuts off the snow Monday night or early Tuesday morning.
This energy will supply us with the lift we need to get snow to develop, but the fly in the ointment will be our wind direction. For us to get snow in this set up, we need at least some upslope flow. It looks likely that we'll get at least a bit of this on Monday afternoon, but not as much as I'd like to see for a significant amount of snow. This is a quick mover, with modest moisture. In sum - I expect snow amounts to be low with this system. But the timing and impact are notable with snow developing during the Monday evening commute, and some significant breezes to accompany the limited snow. You'll need some extra time.
Places like Woodland Park, on the other hand, and even the Palmer Divide, will likely eek out a bit more. At the moment, I expect 2-4" of snow to fall in Woodland Park, which is less hurt by the wind direction in this set up. Regardless of exactly what you see, the main impact with this system is the timing.
A second - strong - cold front will steamroll its way through Monday night, ending the snow, and bringing in some intense cold. Tuesday will be quite cold with highs well below average in the low to mid 30s for many. After that, we're looking at a return to quiet and more mild conditions for the rest of the week.
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