textproduct: Pueblo

KEY MESSAGES

- Widespread critical fire weather conditions today.

- Continued hot, dry and windy conditions will lead to high fire danger for Friday and Saturday, with more of a high end event possible for Saturday.

- Brief shot of light snow possible Saturday night and Sunday morning for central mountains and Palmer Divide.

- Fire weather concerns return starting Tuesday.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/

Issued at 1233 AM MDT Thu Mar 12 2026

Currently...Brisk west to northwest flow aloft firmly in place across the region, with scattered high level cloudiness quickly streaming across the state. Most spots have cooled into the 20s and 30s as of 11 PM, and will likely drop another 5 to as much as 10 degrees by sunrise.

Today and Tonight...Brisk west-northwest flow aloft, and a tightening pressure gradient to the north thanks to a passing shortwave, will produce healthy downslope flow across the forecast area today and promote hot and dry conditions once again. Winds across the higher elevations and lee slopes will be strong and gusty today, but are expected to fall shy of high wind criteria. However, critical fire weather conditions are expected, and a slight increase in expected wind gusts across the plains prompted adding the far eastern plains into the ongoing Red Flag Warning. The warning starts add 11 AM and lasts until 9 PM, but might be dropped early if conditions warrant. Look for high temps today in the 60s for the high valleys, and mid 60s to mid 70s for the plains.

LONG TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/

Issued at 1233 AM MDT Thu Mar 12 2026

Friday...Not much change to the upper pattern for Friday, though forecast winds are a touch less. Still hot and dry though, with an increasing area of single digit RH levels for the far southern I-25 Corridor. Therefore, went with a Fire Weather Watch for Friday morning into the evening for the I-25 Corridor, Fremont County, the San Luis Valley, and lake and Chaffee counties. High temps are forecast to climb into the 60s again for the high valleys, and 70s to near 80F for the plains.

Saturday...Day number 3 of the persistent upper pattern, though a quickly moving shortwave crossing the Pacific NW Sat morning will tighten the pressure gradient and really enhance the winds across CO. Downslope flow will increase, boost high temps up to another 5 degrees over readings on Friday, and the area of single digit minimum RH values grows even more. Fire Weather highlights are nearly a guarantee for Saturday, and there is a chance of it being a high end event.

Sunday and Monday...A cold front late Sat night into early Sun morning will drop high temps by 30 degrees for Sunday across the plains, and 10 to 15 degrees for the high valleys. Long range models do show some light snow developing across the central mts late Sat night, and across the Palmer Divide and Monument Hill early Sunday morning, with total amounts of around 2 inches. For Monday, plan on 5 to 10 degrees of warming, though light winds should keep fire danger minimized for most areas except maybe the San Luis Valley.

Tuesday and Wednesday...Blended model guidance points to an upper ridge pushing from the west and dominating the western half of the country. This is the start of a serious heating and drying trend, and likely daily fire weather concerns, though there will be some questions about how strong winds will get. Stay tuned. Moore

AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z FRIDAY/

Issued at 1100 PM MDT Wed Mar 11 2026

Increasing high cloudiness expected on Thursday, otherwise conditions will remain VFR. Winds will increase out of the west northwest at all three terminals during the afternoon with KPUB possibly seeing a window for LLWS in the morning before strong west winds aloft mix down to the surface. KCOS should see a period of light southerly winds during the morning through early afternoon before westerly winds mix down during the afternoon. Winds will decrease at all three terminals in the 02z to 04z window. -KT

PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

Fire Weather Watch from Friday morning through Friday evening for COZ220-222-224-226>230. Red Flag Warning from 11 AM this morning to 9 PM MDT this evening for COZ222-224-226>237.