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Mother's Day fire threat critical to dangerous for Southern Colorado

Sunday's Red Flag Warnings
Posted at 6:25 PM, May 07, 2022
and last updated 2022-05-07 20:25:00-04

Tonight's Forecast:
With the combination of weaker winds and rising relative humidity later tonight, our current Red Flag Warning should be allowed to expire by 9 pm. A cool front will drop in from the north after sunset, but will struggle to move south of the Arkansas River basin. Areas south of the front will continue to see breezy to gusty southwesterly winds, with some pretty strong gusts possible late tonight over the mountains. Areas north of the front will see a quick burst of north winds tonight, but these should weaken some by daybreak Sunday.

Colorado Springs forecast: Low: 50; High: 82; A slightly cooler Mother's Day for the Pikes Peak Region as we'll replace today's lower 90s with more comfortable lower to middle 80s. The bigger story will be the return of Red Flag Warnings on Sunday, with critical to dangerous fire weather conditions across the PPR.

Pueblo forecast: Low: 55; High: 87; We're expecting to shave off between 3-6 degrees to our daytime highs on Sunday versus what we saw today in Pueblo. On top of the unseasonable heat, Red Flag Warnings will return to our forecast from 11 am through very late Sunday night.

Canon City forecast: Low: 58; High: 82; Warm, dry and windy on Sunday, with Red Flag Warnings set to go into effect at 11 am. If you're still trying to finalize something special for Mother's Day, consider taking them inside for the afternoon hours because of the high wind threat.

Woodland Park forecast: Low: 42; High: 70; Red Flag Warnings will return to Teller County starting at 11 am, and Mother's Day this year will be warm and windy. Avoid any activities that could start a wildfire, and if you see smoke, report it.

Tri-Lakes forecast: Low: 40s; High: 70s; Strong south and southwesterly wind gusts on Monday will lead to another round of Red Flag Warnings that for now includes the Palmer Divide, along with the rest of El Paso County. Peak afternoon and evening wind gusts could top 50 mph.

Plains forecast: Low: 40s/50s; High: 80s/90s; Dry, warm and very windy on Mother Day's, with another Red Flag Warning set to go into effect at 11 am. With gusts to 50 mph, areas of blowing dust may occur during the afternoon and evening hours.

Walsenburg and Trinidad forecast: Low: 50s/60s; High: 70s/80s; Windy during the day, with Red Flag Warnings in effect through at least midnight. Late Sunday night, a piece of energy will move across the southern mountains and southern I-25 corridor, with the potential for late night wind gusts to top 60-65 mph.

Mountains forecast: Low: 30s/40s; High: 50s/60s; Windy, with high fire danger on Sunday. Daytime wind gusts to 60 mph will be followed by a stronger push of wind from late Sunday night into Monday morning, with peak gusts as strong as 80 mph in the mountains.

Extended outlook forecast:
Without any rain or moisture in the forecast this coming week, we're looking at the potential for another long stretch of high fire danger and high winds for Southern Colorado. Persistent southwesterly flow will also bring the heat, with highs 10-15 degrees above average through at least next Thursday.

For now, Fire Weather Watches have already been posted region-wide on Monday. More Fire Weather Watches and/or Red Flag Warnings are likely to follow for most of the week ahead, with dry skies for at least the next 7-10 days.
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