textproduct: Pueblo

KEY MESSAGES

- Isolated strong to severe thunderstorms may impact the plains tomorrow.

- Critical fire weather conditions return this weekend and into next week.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/

Issued at 106 AM MDT Fri Jun 26 2026

Today and Tonight: The end of the week brings another day of thunderstorms to south central and southeastern Colorado. Increasing westerly to southwesterly flow will be in place across the area. Given increased orographic forcing with this flow, thunderstorms are expected to blossom along the higher terrain by early afternoon, and spread across the valleys and plains by mid to late afternoon. Across the mountains and valleys, typical Summer type thunderstorms are anticipated, with lightning, small hail, and gusty outflow winds to 40 mph the main hazards. Across the plains, as storms push east and tap into the richer moisture still in place across the plains, and given shear around 40 knots, isolated strong to severe storms will be possible. With storm organization expected, large hail to 1.5 inches and strong winds to 65 mph could be expected with stronger thunderstorms. Outside of that timeframe though, dry conditions are anticipated early in the day and overnight. Otherwise, partly cloudy skies and breezy winds to around 30 mph are expected areawide. Temperatures during throughout Friday will hover around seasonal values for late June. For highs, the plains will be in the mid 80s to low 90s, the valleys in the 80s, and the mountains in the 50s to 70s. As for overnight lows, the plains will be in the 50s to low 60s, the valleys in the 40s to low 50s, and the mountains in the 30s and 40s.

LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/

Issued at 106 AM MDT Fri Jun 26 2026

Saturday - Monday: For the weekend and into early next week, fire weather becomes the primary concern for south central and southeastern Colorado. Flow will become more southwesterly over the region, and drier air will be advected over this way as well. Overall this pattern will bring dry and windy conditions to much of the forecast area. With these conditions, widespread critical fire weather conditions are likely, especially for areas west of the I-25 corridor, where less rainfall has been observed over the past few days. And speaking of precipitation, dry conditions are anticipated given the drier air streaming over the area. Outside of all of that, mostly clear skies will prevail, with above seasonal temperatures for much of south central and southeastern Colorado.

Tuesday - Thursday: Heading into the midweek period, active weather continues, though with a slight uptick in precipitation chances. Southwesterly flow will remain in place over the region, however, an area of high pressure across portions of the central/midwest parts of CONUS may begin to advect better moisture into the area, at least at midlevels. Given this, precipitation chances are expected to start increasing, though particularly across the eastern plains, where better moisture can get established. Further west, critical fire weather conditions are likely to continue as dry air and windy conditions prevail. With that all said though, dry lightning may become a bigger concern during this period as surface moisture does remain marginal. Beyond all of that, more windy days and partly cloudy skies are anticipated. As for temperatures, much of the area will continue to remain above seasonal values for late June and early July.

AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z SATURDAY/

Issued at 531 AM MDT Fri Jun 26 2026

KALS...

VFR next 24 hours. breezy SW sfc winds this afternoon.

KCOS and KPUB...

Areas of low cigs will be possible early in the fcst period them VFR. There will be a low chance of a passing TSRA this afternoon at both taf sites but probability too low to mention in TAF.

PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

Fire Weather Watch from Saturday morning through Saturday evening for COZ220-222>225.