textproduct: Pueblo

KEY MESSAGES

- Warmer and drier weather is expected into next week.

- Midweek brings fire weather concerns for the plains.

- A passing wave will bring light snow to the central mountains Tues- Weds, with a brief chance for rain on the plains Wednesday.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH MONDAY/

Issued at 1206 PM MST Sun Feb 22 2026

The rest of today will kick off or warming trend. Highs are expected to remain in the 40s-50s across the area with plenty of sunshine.

Some high clouds will roll in tonight, and coupled with some westerly downsloping onto I-25, low temperatures should be a few degrees warmer than last night. Temps will fall into the teens over the eastern plains and valleys. The mountains/plains interface will likely stay in the mid-upper 20s, thanks to the downsloping.

Temperatures continue to rise on Monday, with afternoon highs climbing well into the 60s over most of the plains, and 50s in the valleys. Generally light winds out east, though the mountain peaks will start getting breezy later in the day as flow aloft increases beneath the building upper ridge.

LONG TERM /MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY/

Issued at 1206 PM MST Sun Feb 22 2026

Stronger northwest flow will move in over the region on Tuesday, with a strong jet maximum to our north. Surface winds will increase out of the west, leading to high temps in the 70s out east as alongside afternoon gusts. A few hours of critical fire weather conditions will be possible Tuesday afternoon over portions of I-25, particularly near gap flow areas. Have issued a Fire Weather Watch for the southern I-25 corridor.

On Wednesday, a disturbance will pass through the region later in the afternoon. High temps will be similar to Tuesday, with stronger winds across the area. More elevated fire weather concerns over portions of the plains, mid-late afternoon. However, RH is a bit higher on Wednesday, which may prove to be a mitigating factor.

Meanwhile, the wave will bring some light snow to the central mountains, with a few inches possible over the northwest-facing slopes. There will also be a short window for some scattered showers over the Palmer Divide/Pikes Peak Region Wednesday Night, though the incoming system looks a bit drier than it did yesterday.

Finally, warmer and drier again later in the week, with high pressure building back in over the region. Gusty winds and fire weather concerns are expected to last through at least Friday, with model uncertainty increasing heading into next weekend.

AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z MONDAY/

Issued at 1010 AM MST Sun Feb 22 2026

VFR conditions anticipated across the forecast area over the next 24 hours, including the three main TAF sites of KCOS, KPUB and KALS. Winds will generally be under 10 kts and diurnal in direction, though mentioned ocnl increase to 13-15 kt range for KCOS and KPUB between 20z and 24z.

PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

Fire Weather Watch from Tuesday morning through Tuesday afternoon for COZ228>230.