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Cold and windy Friday in southern Colorado with more cooling Saturday

Windy and cold on Friday with even more cooling on Saturday for the Broncos
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Today’s Forecast:

It will be cold and windy today in southern Colorado. As advertised, a strong Canadian cold front moved through in the evening and it brought significant wind gusts with it. We're temporarily in a lull with the winds, but make no mistake friends: that wind will return late this morning.

Cold air behind the front and enhanced wind speeds a few thousand feet up in the atmosphere will mix down through the morning. Winds will increase across the mountains, and eastern plains this morning. I-25 will be a bit more wind sheltered, though it will still be gusty north of highway 50 today with sustained 15-20 mph winds arriving between 11 AM and noon today in the Pikes Peak Region, and some gusts in the 30-40 mph range through the mid-afternoon.

The strongest winds in the Pikes Peak Region will be over the Palmer Divide and along the U.S. 24 west corridor up into Teller County. In these zones, gusts of 40-50 mph are possible early this afternoon, particularly in Teller County.

The strongest wind in southern Colorado will be over the eastern plains. High Wind Warnings are in place for Kiowa and Prowers counties today until 5:00 PM. Gusts to 65 mph are possible, which will result in difficult travel and the potential for blowing dust. Red Flag Warnings are also in place for the northeastern plains and include Kiowa and Prowers counties as well. It will be breezy in Pueblo, but not as gusty as areas further to the north.

Wave clouds will develop late this morning leading to increasing clouds this afternoon. Highs top out in the upper 30s to low 40s in the Pikes Peak Region. Wind chills will be colder in the 20s and 30s, so bundle up and don't forget the hat and gloves.

Colorado Springs forecast: High: 40; Low: 14.
Hold onto your hats today friends. It's going to be gusty to windy today across the Pikes Peak Region with wind really cranking up after about 10 AM this morning and continuing through mid-afternoon. Expect sustained winds from the north at 10-20 mph, gusting to 40 mph. Mostly sunny in the morning becoming mostly cloudy in the early afternoon. Wind chills will drop to the 20s and teens!

Pueblo forecast: High: 44; Low: 14.
Mark this day down on your calendar - it's very rare for a wind set up to keep the Steel City fairly calm, while most places around you get all the wind! But, that's the set up today. West winds at 5-10 mph, shifting north this afternoon. Once that north shift occurs, you'll experience some gusts of 20-30 mph during mid afternoon. Skies will turn from mostly sunny to mostly cloudy heading into the evening. Bundle up for any evening outdoor plans...wind chills will be in the low teens.

Canon City forecast: High: 47; Low: 19.
Gusty today with northwest winds at 10-20 mph, with the higher sustained wind speeds arriving late in the morning. Gusts to 35 mph are possible in the afternoon as skies become increasingly cloudy.

Woodland Park forecast: High: 34; Low: 13.
Windy today in Teller County with northwest winds at 10-15 mph this morning, increasing to sustained rates of 15-30 mph this afternoon. Winds will gust 45-55 mph this afternoon in favored terrain areas. Woodland Park itself is unlikely to see the strongest wind due to the wind sheltering effect of the mountains to your west and northwest. Areas further up toward Divide see the stronger gusts and particularly once you crest the top of Ute Pass. Mostly sunny through the morning, partly cloudy early in the afternoon, mostly cloudy in the late afternoon and this evening.

Tri-Lakes forecast: High: 30s; Low: Teens.
Windy today with pockets of blowing dust. North winds at 10-20 mph, increasing to 20-30 mph this afternoon. Gusts this afternoon will be 45-55 mph, resulting in patchy blowing dust. Sunny this morning becoming partly sunny this afternoon and mostly cloudy tonight.

Plains forecast: High: 30s/40s; Low: Teens.
HIGH WIND WARNING for Prowers and Kiowa counties until 5:00 PM
RED FLAG WARNING for Prowers and Kiowa counties until 5:00 PM

Windy. Northwest winds at 20-30 mph increasing to 30-45 mph this afternoon, gusting 60-65 mph. This will result in blowing dust resulting in visibility impacts at times and difficult travel for high profile vehicles. Increasing clouds.

Walsenburg and Trinidad forecast: High: 42/44; Low: 15/12.
Breezy with northwest winds at 10-30 mph gusting 30-40 mph this afternoon. Mostly sunny becoming mostly cloudy tonight.

Mountains forecast: High: 30s; Low: 10s.
Gusty to windy, depending on location. The Wet Mountains will see north winds at 10-30 mph, gusting to 40 mph at times. The Sangres will see wind gusts to 60 mph, with sustained winds at 15-30 mph. Mostly sunny becoming mostly cloudy tonight.

Extended outlook forecast:
A blend of northerly and at times upslope winds will lead to more cooling this evening. Lows will plummet to the low teens, and wind chills will be negative in some areas. The record low tomorrow in Colorado Springs is -22, set in 1930, and the record low in Pueblo is -15 set in 2001. We will not be close to those numbers. Skies will begin the night mostly cloudy becoming mostly clear by the morning.

Saturday will be cold with highs in the 30s across the plains - higher elevations of the Palmer Divide may struggle to hit freezing! It will be gusty again, and the wind pattern will be similar with the mountains and eastern plains seeing more wind than I-25 though it will still be breezy along I-25. Temps at kickoff for the Broncos game vs. the Bills should be in the mid 30s with breezes out of the northwest. It should become less breezy as the game progresses. If you're going - bundle up!

Sunday will bring brighter skies and much warmer highs to the low 50s. Another cold front will bring temps back below average Monday and should also produce more wind.

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