Today’s Forecast:
Our well advertised winter storm is making a grand entrance today into the Pikes Peak Region, with the first round of snow rolling in before lunch. Brief periods of heavy snow and gusty winds will be possible, especially for northern El Paso and Teller counties. These more intense "snow squalls" can bring rapidly deteriorating conditions to our roadways while producing whiteout conditions for drivers.
On top of snow and wind, Friday's forecast will be much colder, with highs down around 25 to 30 degrees from what we saw yesterday.
Colorado Springs forecast: High: 39; Low: 20. Snow will come in two waves today, the first this morning, and a second band of snow tonight. Snow totals will be quite variable in the Pikes Peak Region, with 1-3" exepected for the downtown area and Colorado Springs Airport, with as much as 3-6" in Briargate.
Pueblo forecast: High: 44; Low: 21. After some really warm weather early in the week, winter will stage a fierce comeback on Friday, with snow, wind and some much colder temperatures. Snow totals will be on the lighter side compared to surrounding areas, with up to 2" in Pueblo.
Canon City forecast: High: 43; Low: 24. While we're mostly looking at light snow totals in eastern Fremont County from this storm, a few localized spots could see higher snow totals due to the potential for snow squalls in our forecast. Snow totals from a trace to 2".
Woodland Park forecast: High: 32; Low: 9. After a windy and mild day on Thursday, "Old Man Winter" will make his presence felt again on Friday, with snow, wind and much colder temperautres in our forecast. Snow totals from 4-7".
Tri-Lakes forecast: High: 30s; Low: 10s. Snow and blowing snow will pick up this morning on the Palmer Divide, with periods of snow expected to continue until very early Saturday. There could be a small break around the lunch hour, but more snow will follow this evening. Also on the Palmer Divide, we're watching closely for the potential for snow squalls, brief bands of more intense snowfall, which could seriously impact snow totals for areas that see them. General snow totals from 5-8".
Plains forecast: High: 40s/50s; Low: 10s/20s. As our next winter storm moves in, leftover warm air from yesterday will bring us a mix of rain and snow before a changeover to all snow later tonight. Snow totals will be light as road temperatures will be warm, generally less than 1" in most areas.
Walsenburg and Trinidad forecast: High: 40s; Low: 10s/20s. Winter Weather Advisories will go into effect this evening as the worst of the storm can be expected from late tonight into early Saturday morning across the southern I-25 corridor. Snow totals from 2-5", with wind gusts up to 35 mph.
Mountains forecast: High: 20s/30s; Low: 0s/10s. We'll see a snowy and windy Friday in the mountains, with peak wind gusts from 45-55 mph, and snow totals of 3-6". Travel in the Sangres late tonight into very early Saturday could be severely disrupted from the storm, with whiteout conditions possible during heavier bands of snow.
Extended outlook forecast:
Another round of snow Friday evening will continue into the overnight hours before letting up from north to south early Saturday morning. With the latest models ramping up the intensity of the storm, I've adjusted snow totals back up across Southern Colorado. Through Saturday morning, we could see as much as 5-8" on Monument Hill, 4-7" for Woodland Park, and 1-5" in Colorado Springs, with higher amounts likely for areas north of Woodmen Road.
Highs on Saturday will only warm into the 30s, with our low Saturday night dropping down to near 10 degrees. While Saturday will be cold, we'll at least salvage the second half of the weekend with upper 40s and sunshine on tap for our Sunday.
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Curious about the First Alert 5 Weather Storm Impact Scale? Check out our cheatsheet explainer.
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