Today’s Forecast:
Snow squalls moved down from Denver last night, leading to more snow than expected across most of southern Colorado.
Snow squalls are notoriously tricky to forecast, as the same strong winds that produce the squalls also tend to make snow weaker when it moves south of Monument Hill.
Snow will continue to push south across the Raton Mesa through the early morning. Strong winds will continue to blow snow around through the afternoon, but most accumulation will stop by the mid-morning.
Strong winds and really cold air will make daytime conditions miserable even after the snow stops falling. Winds will gust in the 20 to 50 mph range with the strongest gusts happening for areas east of I-25. Wind chills will vary from the single digits in the morning to the teens in the afternoon.
Daytime highs will be cold with most of the plains only warming to the low 30s in the afternoon. Overnight, temperatures will plummet to lows in the single digits, but calm winds will mitigate wind chill danger.
Colorado Springs forecast: High: 31; Low: 8. Cloudy, windy, and very cold with daytime wind chills in the single digits and teens. Accumulating snow will stop through the morning but strong winds could result in more blowing flurries and light snow through the early afternoon. Lows will fall to the single digits overnight.
Pueblo forecast: High: 38; Low: 6. Cloudy and very cold with strong daytime winds. Accumulating snow will stop in the morning but wind-blown flurries will be possible in the afternoon. Lows will fall to the single digits tonight.
Canon City forecast: High: 38; Low: 10. Cloudy and cold with gusty daytime winds. Accumulating snow will stop in the morning but we could see more wind-blown flurries in the afternoon. Lows will fall to the low teens tonight.
Woodland Park forecast: High: 23; Low: 4. Cloudy, cold, and windy with wind-blown flurries and light snow through the morning. Wind chills will stay in the negatives and single digits all day with overnight lows below 5 degrees.
Tri-Lakes forecast: High: 20s; Low: >10. More light snow between Castle Rock and the Tri-Lakes area through the morning, but the bulk of our snow accumulation for the day fell overnight before 4 am. We'll stay windy and cold all day with wind chills in the negatives and single digits. Lows tonight will fall to the single digits with dry skies.
Plains forecast: High: 30s; Low: >10. Mostly cloudy, windy, and very cold with wind chills in the teens and a few low 20s through the afternoon. Snow will continue to collect in the morning south of Highway 50 with wind-blown flurries through the afternoon. Lows will fall to the single digits overnight.
Walsenburg and Trinidad forecast: High: 30s; Low: >10. Windy with snow squall behavior through sunrise. We'll be drier in the afternoon but wind-blown flurries will remain possible through the afternoon. Wind chills will be in the teens and 20s this afternoon with lows in the single digits overnight.
Mountains forecast: High: 30s; Low: >10. Blowing light snow will fall over the mountains through the early afternoon with really cold wind chills. We'll be dry tonight with lows in the single digits and a few negatives across the valleys.
Extended outlook forecast:
Warming trends kick in through the weekend with highs in the 40s on Friday and 50s on Saturday. It's possible on Saturday we could see a few 60 degree readings in the plains, but that will depend on how quickly we melt some of today's new snow.
A low pressure region south of Colorado will bring clouds on Monday with a chance for light snow and rain along the Raton Mesa. The next best chance for snow locally comes next Wednesday.
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Curious about the First Alert 5 Weather Storm Impact Scale? Check out our cheatsheet explainer.
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