textproduct: Pueblo

KEY MESSAGES

- Continued fire danger concerns today, along with another round of possible record breaking temperatures.

- Warmer than normal temperatures and dry conditions persist through around the middle of next week.

- A possible pattern shift, at least for the mountains, looks to arrive around Christmas or so.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/

Issued at 218 AM MST Fri Dec 19 2025

Today and Tonight..

Westerly flow increases across the region today and tonight, bringing another round of high fire danger and near record temperatures. Red Flag Warnings are in place for most of our plains this afternoon, from 11 AM through 7 PM. Humidity values in the low teens and a few single digits are likely, along with wind gusts of 25 to 45 mph depending on location. Please avoid all activities that could start a fire today, especially if you are in a Red Flag Warned area! Daytime high temperatures are expected to soar well into the upper 60s to mid 70s on our plains, with mid to upper 50s for mountain valleys. Standing records and forecast highs are listed below this paragraph, but all three of our climate sites are expected to tie or break records today. Strongest winds will be over the central mountains, Teller County, and the Sangres through the daytime hours, when gusts to 60 mph will be possible. Overnight, a jet core of 150kt or so passes to our north. This will be the timeframe for strongest gusts. At this time, high res model guidance paints strongest gusts on the lee side of the southern Sangres and through eastern Lake country on the lee side of the Mosquito Range. In these areas, gusts closer to 70 mph will be possible. These areas will need to be monitored for High Wind potential as the event draws closer, especially the Mosquitos. Overnight lows will be extremely mild and actually approaching what would be normal daytime HIGHS for this time of year, with most locations only cooling down into the upper 30s and lower 40s. For reference, the climate normal daytime high for Colorado Springs is 44F for December 19th. Their forecast low tonight is 41F. They are forecast to be be around 23 degrees warmer than normal for their high today, which will tie their daily record if it is achieved.

Standing Record Forecast

Colorado Springs 67F 67F Pueblo 70F 72F Alamosa 56F 57F

LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/

Issued at 218 AM MST Fri Dec 19 2025

Saturday..

Wind driven snow begins over the central mountains early tomorrow morning, with a quick 3 to 5 inches possible possible by late Saturday afternoon over the highest peaks. Though accumulations will be too light for headlines, strong winds and wind driven snow will lead to degraded visibility and dangerous travel at times, especially through mountain passes. Take care on mountain roads tomorrow, mainly through Lake and Chaffee counties, though a few flurries may be possible down in the La Garitas as well.

All other areas are expected to stay dry tomorrow, with temperatures cooling back down into the 50s and 60s on the plains. Though this will be much cooler than today, we are still going to be around 15 degrees warmer than normal for most areas. Winds will be howling over the previously mentioned areas of the high country into the early morning hours, but look to begin to subside through the 9 AM to Noon timeframe or so. Portions of Fremont, Teller, and western Pueblo counties will likely stay breezy through much of the day, with gusts to around 30 mph or so.

Saturday Night and Sunday..

We cool back down much closer to climate normals for overnight lows Saturday night into Sunday, with lows back into the teens for mountain valleys and 20s for the plains as winds continue to weaken. Daytime highs remain warmer than normal, but will again be cooler than Saturday. Most locations look to warm into the 50s, with a few 60s across the southern plains. The central mountains will likely see a few more snow flurries with continued westerly flow, though accumulations on Sunday will be minimal.

Monday Onwards..

Guidance points towards the return of well above normal temperatures in the 60s to 70s range for Monday through Wednesday as broad southwest flow increases over the region. This will bring in the potential for more critical fire weather over portions of the plains, and will keep breezy southwest winds over our eastern mountains through much of this period. Models hint at a pattern shift by around the late Wednesday or Thursday timeframe, as decent moisture begins to accompany our southwest flow though. This will at least help to bring in snow chances for our western mountains. It will also likely bring in some cloud cover for the rest us, which should help to take the edge off our temperatures and our fire weather concerns towards the second half of next week.

AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z SATURDAY/

Issued at 1045 PM MST Thu Dec 18 2025

KCOS, KPUB, and KALS: VFR conditions are expected over the next 24 hours. Winds are expected to remain light overnight, though will start to increase and become gusty early tomorrow afternoon as diurnal mixing becomes established at all three TAF sites. In addition, low-level wind shear is now expected for KCOS and KPUB, with wind shear hovering around 2,000ft AGL. Otherwise, dry conditions with pockets of high level clouds is anticipated through this TAF period.

PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

Red Flag Warning from 11 AM this morning to 6 PM MST this evening for COZ221-222-226>233-235>237.