textproduct: Pueblo

KEY MESSAGES

- Near record warmth Sat with Critical Fire Weather Conditions across for the mountain valleys, southern I-25 corridor and far southeast plains

- Continued record to near record warmth Sun and Monday with elevated fire weather conditions Monday across the valleys and more widespread critical fire weather conditions possible across southern CO Monday

- Cooler Tuesday and Wednesday with a chance for showers in and near the mountains with accumulating snows across the Continental Divide Wednesday

- Potential for a stronger system late week into next weekend with more widespread precipitation possible depending on storm track

SHORT TERM /THROUGH SUNDAY/

Issued at 1214 AM MDT Sat Mar 28 2026

Upper ridge flattens on Saturday with flow aloft increasing and a surface trough redeveloping to the lee of the southeast mountains through the day. Gusty winds across the high country will spread down into the valleys and adjacent southern I-25 corridor and far southeast plains through the afternoon. Winds will be weaker within the surface lee trough region across El Paso, Pueblo, Crowley and Otero counties, however as the surface trough shifts eastward into the evening, there could be an hour or two of gusty winds spread into the adjacent lower elevations of western El Paso and Pueblo counties. Current Red Flag Warnings look on target, and further expansions do not look necessary as winds elsewhere do not look like they will make the required 3 hour duration nor widespread enough coverage for fire weather highlights. Temperatures will rebound back into the upper 70s to mid 80s across the plains with 60s and 70s for the valleys and 40s and 50s for the mountains. We could get close to record high temperatures but may come up a degree or two shy for Colorado Springs and Pueblo. Alamosa stands the best chance of tying or setting a new record. (See Climate Section below for details.)

A few showers may pop over the mountains and Pikes Peak region in the late afternoon and evening, though these will be very isolated and mainly dry. Gusty outflow winds up to 40 mph could occur with virga associated with these but these conditions should be spotty. Otherwise, expect clearing skies overnight with mild overnight lows given enhanced westerly winds into the departing lee side surface low. -KT

LONG TERM /SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY/

Issued at 1214 AM MDT Sat Mar 28 2026

Record to near record warmth will continue for Sunday and Monday. Winds aloft weaken a bit for Sunday as the upper ridge shifts northward. Humidity values will be critically low on Sunday but winds still look marginal for fire weather highlights. In fact, HREF probabilities of wind gusts exceeding 25 mph are less than 20 percent across the valleys and Huerfano county where the signal would be strongest. Winds at H7 struggle to reach 20 kts until very late in the day, so although an hour or two of critical fire weather conditions will be possible across portions of the San Luis Valley, Fremont and Huerfano counties, it does not appear it will be long enough or widespread enough for a fire weather watch at this time. Isolated showers will be possible once again over the mountains, but these look very sparse and not likely to produce much in the way of precipitation.

Monday looks like a better chance for widespread critical fire weather conditions. Winds aloft increase as a northern stream trough moves across the northern U.S. Rockies, tightening the gradient over CO. A weak embedded disturbance in west southwest flow aloft will move across, deepening the surface lee trough and kicking it eastward through the day. Wind gusts up to 50 mph will be possible in some of the windier east facing slopes of the Sangres and Sawatch range, with 30-40 mph gusts elsewhere. It is highly probably we will need some Fire Weather highlights for Monday as we get closer to the event. Otherwise, isolated afternoon showers will be possible over the mountains but any precipitation will be light with virga and locally enhanced winds from outflows the primary concern.

The weather pattern becomes more active for Tuesday and beyond. A cold front will drop southward through the plains Monday night bringing cooler temperatures for Tuesday and Wednesday. Embedded shortwaves in westerly flow will trigger rounds of showers across the mountains, which will spread into the adjacent plains at times. This period will bring better chances for at least some modest precipitation amounts in and near the mountains. A stronger system on Wednesday promises more appreciable precipitation amounts across the Continental Divide mountains with a few inches of accumulating snow across the higher elevations.

Warmer weather returns for Thursday with the possibility of a more amplified system and another uptick in precipitation chances late week into next weekend. -KT

AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z SUNDAY/

Issued at 1149 AM MDT Sat Mar 28 2026

VFR conditions are expected at COS, PUB and ALS over the next 24 hours. Latest high res model data indicates the potential showers developing across the Palmer Dvd late this afternoon, with possible outflow shifting winds southerly winds at the terminal this afternoon to more west northwest between 23Z-01Z. Winds at PUB look to remain light east to southeast through the late afternoon, shifting to breezy westerly between 22Z-00Z, with light diurnal westerlies then continuing overnight. Gusty south to southwest winds to develop at ALS through the afternoon, with light, mainly southerly winds expected overnight.

CLIMATE

Issued at 1214 AM MDT Sat Mar 28 2026

March 28th Records... Pueblo: 84 in 1986 and 1963 Colorado Springs: 80 in 1963 Alamosa: 71 in 2015

March 29th Records... Pueblo: 86 in 1943 Colorado Springs: 86 in 1943 Alamosa: 69 in 2015

March 30th Records... Pueblo: 83 in 2010, 1986, and 1946 Colorado Springs: 78 in 2010 Alamosa: 71 in 2015

PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

Red Flag Warning until 7 PM MDT this evening for COZ220>222- 224-225-229-230-233>237.