Tonight's Forecast:
Strong southerly flow has helped to transport much thicker smoke into the eastern Plains this afternoon and evening. This will continue to be the case through tomorrow morning as the wind shifts to the southwest. By Wednesday afternoon, that should help to disperse some of the thicker smoke over the region while also pushing it off to the east. Overnight lows will be mild ahead of a very warm day on Wednesday.
Colorado Springs forecast: Low: 48; High: 88; Sunny and hot on Wednesday, with blowing dust possible during a good 10 to 12-hour stretch of high fire danger. Red Flag Warnings will go into effect at 10 am, and continue through 10 pm. Please continue to promote high fire danger safety practices, including no outdoor burning and avoiding activities that could start a spark.
Pueblo forecast: Low: 48; High: 93; Thick overnight smoke should disperse some during the day on Wednesday as the flow turns more southwesterly. This will blow smoke off to our northeast. Aside from the smoke, it'll be a hot and windy day, with Red Flag Warnings returning by late morning.
Canon City forecast: Low: 51; High: 91; Dry, windy and unseasonably hot on Wednesday, with afternoon highs some 20-25 degrees above average.
Woodland Park forecast: Low: 40; High: 78; Warm and windy, with high fire danger back in the mix for Teller County from 10 am to 10 pm. Peak afternoon wind gusts to 45 mph will be possible by the afternoon.
Tri-Lakes forecast: Low: 40s/50s; High: 70s/80s; Wednesday will be the hottest day of the week, with highs soaring into the upper 70s and 80s. Red Flag Warnings will return starting at 10 am, with the potential for afternoon wind gusts to top 40-50 mph.
Plains forecast: Low: 50s/60s; High: 90s; Hot, dry and windy weather will continue to impact the Plains on Wednesday, along with poor air quality due to wildfire smoke from major wildfires burning in northern New Mexico. An isolated shower or thunderstorm will be possible over the far east Plains by the afternoon, although most of that moisture is expected to stay off to our east.
Walsenburg and Trinidad forecast: Low: 40s/50s; High: 80s; Much like the rest of us, it will be super warm for the southern I-25 corridor on Wednesday. Along with the warmth, we'll be dealing with more high danger and thick smoke throughout the day.
Mountains forecast: Low: 30s/40s; High: 50s/60s; Snowmelt will be on fast-forward across the mountains on Wednesday, given the forecast of another warm and windy day. Peak afternoon wind gusts of 50-60 mph will combine with low relative humidity to bring Red Flag Warnings back to the forecast.
Extended outlook forecast:
I hate to sound like a broken record, but without any serious moisture in the forecast over the next 7 days, we're going to continue to see more of the same across Southern Colorado. Although temperatures will cool late this week, the windy and dry weather will keep the high fire danger in play through at least Friday.
We'll heat back up this weekend, with highs 15-20 degrees above average for this time of the year. Highs in the 80s and 90s look realistic for the Plains from this weekend through the middle of next week.
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