Today’s Forecast:
High pressure is building across Colorado today, with a beautiful weekend in store. You can expect plenty of sunshine today with highs in the 60s and 70s on the plains. Winds should remain light, too. You'll continue to notice some mist near the mountains through the morning as moisture continues to evaporate and sublimate from the ground from our late-April spring soaker.
Lows tonight will be a bit warmer due to more atmospheric mixing - so frost will not be a big concern.
Colorado Springs forecast: High: 66; Low: 40.
It will be a -beautiful- day today in Colorado Springs. Full sunshine, light wind. Hard to say much else. Hope you can enjoy it.
Pueblo forecast: High: 72; Low: 40.
Sunny with westerly winds this morning, southerly this afternoon...light all day. Whether you're headed fishing, going for a walk, a bike ride...it's all going to be great today.
Canon City forecast: High: 69; Low: 43.
Sunny, warm, beautiful for the Blossom and Music festival. Light winds. Skies stay clear tonight, too.
Woodland Park forecast: High: 58; Low: 33.
Sunny and mild - southwest winds at 5-10 mph.
Tri-Lakes forecast: High: 60s; Low: 30s.
Sunny with northwest winds at 5-10 mph.
Plains forecast: High: 70s; Low: 30s.
Sunny and calm. It might feel slightly damp at times as water evaporates from the ground. Otherwise, no notes.
Walsenburg and Trinidad forecast: High: 64/68; Low: 42/38.
Sunny with westerly winds in the morning swinging southeast in the afternoon, light all day.
Mountains forecast: High: 50s/60s; Low: 30s.
Snowmelt sunshine today with west winds at 5-10 mph shifting southeast this afternoon. A reminder that trails remain snow covered at higher elevations, and that snow will get soft - fast - today.
Extended outlook forecast:
Sunday will be another 5-10 degrees warmer than today's temperatures as the ridge strengthens. Expect highs in the 70s/80s outside of the mountains. The day starts off sunny, with increasing clouds in the afternoon becoming mostly cloudy by evening. The clouds are associated with a weak upper-level disturbance that will move across the state from the northwest. This disturbance will spark isolated showers and thunderstorms over the mountain areas on Sunday afternoon (plan accordingly, particularly if west of the Front Range mountains). Low surface moisture will preclude any shower chances on the plains.
On Monday, the ridge begins to weaken and shift south. As it does so, moisture will increase across the state. A cold front will also push in out of the north northeast. Ultimately, this all results in a chance for afternoon showers and thunderstorms. The chances are greatest north of highway 50 and into the mountains. Highs will still be in the low 70s.
Increasing upslope flow will combine with two separate upper-level disturbances - one approaching from the south, one from the north, by Tuesday. This combination of lift and energy will support rain on Tuesday - and some parts of the southern I-25 corridor could see over an inch of liquid precipitation combined with this multi-day system. But it's critical to put that number into context. Colorado Springs averages 1.99" of rain in May. And the top 20 2-day rainfall totals in May range from 1.98 to 3.77". That is to say, this is another possible good drink of water - but it's not an atypical storm for May. To put a big dent in the drought, we need to exceed average rainfall. Pueblo averages 1.57" of precipitation in May.
Regardless, this storm will have a decent amount of cold air by May standards, so a mix or even some snow cannot be ruled out Tuesday night at higher elevations - potentially as low as portions of the Pikes Peak Region. Heavy wet snow is likely in Woodland Park and over the Palmer Divide.
A few morning snow showers are still possible Wednesday morning as the energy and moisture begin to depart, with dry skies ending the week.
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Curious about the First Alert 5 Weather Storm Impact Scale? Check out our cheatsheet explainer.
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