Today’s Forecast:
After record setting heat on Monday, a cold front Tuesday will bring a big change to the weather pattern. Highs will be much cooler than yesterday, cooling by as much as 10-15 degrees across Southern Colorado. Skies will begin to turn stormy and unsettled as early as the lunch hour. That's when we expect the first round of storms to develop along the Front Range. For the Pikes Peak Region and I-25 corridor, our main window for severe weather will come between 1-6 pm. Storms will be capable of 1-2" hail, 60-70 mph wind gusts, and a very small chance of an isolated tornado.
On the eastern Plains, the window for severe weather will come mostly between 4-8 pm. Storms here could produce destructive hail as large as 2-3" in diameter, with wind gusts to 80 mph. An isolated tornado or two may also spin up this afternoon before severe threats come to an end after sunset this evening.
Colorado Springs forecast: High: 79; Low: 50. Keep an eye on the sky and make sure that you have a way to receive severe weather alerts as storms today will bring the potential for large hail and damaging wind gust to the Pikes Peak Region. Main window for severe weather will be between 1-6 pm.
Pueblo forecast: High: 88; Low: 55. Scattered thunderstorms will begin to pulse up in Pueblo County as early as 12-2 pm, with the main window for severe weather continuing through the dinner hour. Storms will be capable of large hail and strong wind gusts.
Canon City forecast: High: 85; Low: 54. Showers and thunderstorms that form over the mountains around the lunch hour will move across the Arkansas River Valley this afternoon, with lower end severe threats compared to areas to our east.
Woodland Park forecast: High: 72; Low: 43. Dry skies this morning will give way to scattered showers and thunderstorms starting as early as the lunch hour. Rain should come to an end by early this evening, with 1" hail gusts to 60 mph the main storm threats.
Tri-Lakes forecast: High: 70s; Low: 40s. After a small chance of a shower this morning, the threat for severe weather will increase this afternoon by as early as 12-1 pm, with scattered severe thunderstorms possible through the dinner hour.
Plains forecast: High: 70s/80s; Low: 50s. Storms this morning have stayed well north of Highway 50, and shouldn't impact our forecast too much until later this afternoon. Anytime after 3-4 pm, storms will intensify as they move into the Plains. Storms will be capable of 2-3" hail and wind gusts to 80 mph. Isolated tornadoes will also be possible.
Walsenburg and Trinidad forecast: High: 80s/90s; Low: 50s. Dry skies this morning will give way to the potential for scattered strong to severe thunderstorms this afternoon. Threats in our area should wind down between 5-7 pm.
Mountains forecast: High: 60s/70s; Low: 30s/40s. Severe threats will be much lower today for the mountains than for the Plains. In fact, showers may miss the mountains entirely today as we'll see westerly wind gusts around 30-40 mph today in the high country. Red Flag Warnings will extend from the Sawatch Range into the San Juans.
Extended outlook forecast:
Today's threats of severe weather will clear out just in time for Wednesday's Western Street Breakfast in downtown Colorado Springs. Temperatures will be in the lower 50s when the breakfast begins at 5:30 am, warming into the middle 60s by 9 am. Our high tomorrow will be comparable to today, topping out in the lower 80s. Highs for most of the Plains will warm into the 80s.
High pressure will build into Colorado from our southwest late this week, pushing highs into the lower 90s on Thursday and upper 90s on Friday in Colorado Springs. Driven by breezy to gusty southwest winds, we could see record heat in Colorado Springs on Friday as well as the potential for high fire danger in parts of Southern Colorado late this week and weekend. Highs from Friday to Saturday on the Plains will reach the triple digits!
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Curious about the First Alert 5 Weather Storm Impact Scale? Check out our cheatsheet explainer.
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