Tonight's Forecast:
Showers continue this evening but will become patchier after dinner time as we sit between two rounds of energy and moisture. It will remain cloudy and breezy when it's not raining. Patchy fog is also likely to develop as low-level air becomes increasingly saturated.
Moderate to heavy, and steady rain will return around sunrise across all of southern Colorado. This rain will continue for most of the day leading to isolated flooding threats and significant snow in the mountains. See the extended forecast for more details.
Colorado Springs forecast: Low: 41; High: 48;
Off and on light showers tonight, with steadily lowering visibility likely as well. Northern parts of the city are likely to be embedded in the cloud deck at times tonight (fog). It should remain gusty through at least 10 PM with winds decreasing after that. They will remain out of the southeast at 10-15 mph overnight.
Pueblo forecast: Low: 44; High: 48;
Cloudy, with occasional showers and a few rumbles of thunder overnight. Temperatures will generally hold steady as the air temperature approaches the dew point. Southeast winds at 15-25 mph, shifting east overnight and decreasing to 10-15 mph.
Canon City forecast: Low: 43; High: 48;
Showers and a few rumbles of thunder continue this evening. Be careful if driving - some areas have picked up over an inch of rain today and there may be isolated ponding on roads. East winds at 10-15 mph.
Woodland Park forecast: Low: 32; High: 38;
WINTER STORM WARNING in effect from 6 AM TUE - 12 PM WED
Showers and thunderstorms - rain early...snow overnight. Modest accumulations are possible mainly on grassy surfaces. The higher parts of the city have the best chance for snow to accumulate on roads early Tuesday. Plan accordingly for your commute. This will be a heavy and wet snow. It will be extremely hard to shovel and will weigh on tree branches. Be prepared for spotty power outages. Snow will melt very fast on Wednesday afternoon. Tonight - southeast winds at 5-15 mph, decreasing overnight.
Tri-Lakes forecast: Low: 30s; High: 40s;
Off and on showers, consistent low clouds, reduced visibility, and a rumble or two of thunder. Be prepared for poor visibility. Rain showers continue Tuesday morning, but should transition to snow during the afternoon.
Plains forecast: Low: 40s; High: 50s;
Showers and thunderstorms tonight, off-and-on, and patchy. Expect heavy rain to move in early (between 4AM and 5AM), with flooding potential by 7:00AM with continued heavy rain. Remember: do not drive through flooded roadways. It takes less water than you think to float a car. Southeast winds at 10-25 mph.
Walsenburg and Trinidad forecast: Low: 37/38; High: 43/46;
Cloudy with showers and a few rumbles of thunder. Southeast winds at 10-15 mph shifting east overnight.
Mountains forecast: Low: 30s; High: 30s;
WINTER STORM WARNING in effect from 6 AM TUE - 12 PM WED.
Rain showers transitioning to snow tonight in the mountains. I do expect some thundersnow with this activity. East winds at 5-10 mph.
Extended outlook forecast:
The main event with this system arrives on Tuesday. Moderate to at times heavy rain arrives between 5-6 AM tomorrow morning tracking in from the southeast. Over the SE tier flooding concerns will become a problem early.
Your morning commute will be cold, breezy, and wet. Flood risks will be higher Tuesday given the long duration of moderate to heavy rain. The heaviest rain is likely to reach I-25 toward the tail end of the AM commute (after 9).
The long period of heavy rain will drop snow heights to around 8,000 feet. There's some debate (model-wise) about them dropping a bit lower which would put Monument Hill into contention. Based on the way temperatures have tracked today - I suspect snow levels will end up being on the lower elevation end of the model guidance. That would suggest Monument Hill could pick up 2-4" of snow after first seeing periods of rain, but like in other zones it probably won't stick during the day. Your quick science lesson on that: UV-A light penetrates clouds easily. Pavement absorbs UV-A light. This heats pavement even on cloudy days. Since it's May, the sun angle is high during the day - so even with heavy snow rates, it's hard to get pavement to actually cool to freezing. It is likely to stick after sunset though, for the same reason.
Woodland Park is under a Winter Storm Warning from 6:00 AM Tuesday - 12:00 PM Wednesday. You're likely to get over a foot of snow - but the amount that sticks to the roads is an open question (see above). I suspect 7-12" will actually stick to roads, with the rest either melting on contact or accumulating on grass. Either way, travel over U.S. 24 West will be difficult tomorrow through Wednesday AM for a combination of low visibility and wet and/or snow covered roads.
Showers persist into Wednesday morning, with remnant moisture in the afternoon producing a spotty t-storm across both the mountains and I-25.
Thursday and Friday should be mainly dry on the plains but keep daily afternoon shower chances in the mountains.
Weak chances for a PM storm return on Saturday and Mother's Day for most areas, but chances and timings are short enough that you shouldn't need to alter any plans. The weekend will be warm - highs back to the 70s, and generally good for outdoor plans.
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Curious about the First Alert 5 Weather Storm Impact Scale? Check out our cheatsheet explainer.
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