textproduct: Pueblo

KEY MESSAGES

- Warm and breezy Saturday with critical fire weather conditions for the valleys, portions of the I-25 corridor and far southern plains

- Warm and occasionally windy conditions continue Sun-Mon, with near record highs and pockets of elevated to critical fire weather conditions

- Active weather pattern develops from Tue onward, bringing increasing chances for rain and mountain snow Tue/Wed, along with a cooling trend.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH SATURDAY/

Issued at 238 PM MDT Fri Mar 27 2026

Fairly solid area of upslope stratus across the area today in the wake of yesterday's cold front, with low clouds making it all the way up the upper Arkansas Valley to around Buena Vista. Just starting to see some erosion of lower cloud layers early the afternoon as south winds increase and strengthen mixing, while satellite loop shows higher peaks of the ern mountains beginning to erode as well. Expect continued slow erosion of cloud cover through the afternoon into the evening, with a few peaks of sun boosting temps a bit by late day. Overnight, clouds continue to clear, with lows near or slightly below freezing at many locations, which is actually a bit above average for late March. Heat and high fire danger return on Saturday as upper ridge builds back into Colorado, while surface lee trough returns to the plains. Have upgraded the current Fire Weather Watch to a Red Flag Warning as a result, though will acknowledge that winds on the plains may actually diminish by late afternoon as surface trough kicks eastward and pressure gradient diminishes. Max temps soar back to well above average levels, with a record high forecast for Alamosa (forecast 73f, record 71f) ,while readings stay just below record levels at Colorado Springs (forecast 78f, record 80f) and Pueblo (forecast 82f, record 84f). There will be a low risk of a shower/sprinkle/virga over mainly Teller County/Palmer Divide as an area of mid-level moisture slips across, though any precip amounts look minor.

LONG TERM /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY/

Issued at 238 PM MDT Fri Mar 27 2026

Ridge builds slightly Sunday, then flattens somewhat on Monday as wrn upper trough approaches. Mid level flow slackens just enough on Sunday to keep most areas below critical fire weather thresholds, though gap flow locations through Fremont County and around Walsenburg may get close. Will run with no fire highlight for now and let later shifts re-evaluate. Maxes on Sun creep upward a few degf with mid level heights/temps rising, and readings will again threaten records at many locations. Winds pick up Mon as upper trough approaches, and suspect we'll need some fire weather highlights for much of the area at some point. Could also see some high based showers over the mountains by Mon afternoon, though any rainfall amounts look light.

Upper trough then comes across in a couple pieces Tue/Wed, with associated cold front dropping through the area Tue. Should see widespread showers across the high terrain from late Tue into Wed, with accumulating snow over the higher mountains, especially above about 9k feet. Scattered rain/nighttime snow showers possible lower elevations, least chance over the far ern plains. Model/WPC QPF is in the one half to one inch range for locations along the Continental Divide by late Wed, much lesser amounts elsewhere. Temps will fall back toward seasonal averages both Tue/Wed, with nighttime lows near to below freezing possible.

Thu/Fri look dry and warmer, but models/ensembles seem to be converging on a least the potential for a significant upper level system moving across Colorado next weekend. Still a lot of details yet to be determined, but a nice spring storm with widespread rain and snow (even at lower elevations) looks possible.

AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SUNDAY/

Issued at 557 PM MDT Fri Mar 27 2026

MVFR ceilings for a few more hours over KCOS, followed by VFR conditions for the rest of the forecast period. KPUB will have lower ceilings, but not low enough for any restrictions. The gust SE winds over KCOS will last through a little after 06z. Gusty south-southwesterly winds develop over KCOS and KPUB tomorrow afternoon. No precipitation is expected.

KALS remains to have gusty winds until around sunset, then winds will subside, only to increase in intensity tomorrow afternoon. VFR conditions are expected throughout the forecast period.

PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

Red Flag Warning from noon to 7 PM MDT Saturday for COZ220>222- 224-225-229-230-233>237.