Seasonal Saturday before very active weather for much of next week

Today’s forecast:
Mild highs and mostly sunny skies ring in your weekend and the last day of daylight saving time. Sunset in Colorado Springs will be at 5:57 pm tonight…and 4:56 pm tomorrow. So if you want to enjoy one last day in the late afternoon sun, it’s now or never. As the clocks go back, so do the temperatures, especially looking ahead to next week.

Southerly flow could produce a shower or even a severe thunderstorm over parts of the extreme southeastern Plains this afternoon.

Forecast for Colorado Springs: High: 63; Low: 35.

Pueblo Forecast: High: 68; Low: 34.

Canon City forecast: High: 65; Low: 38.

Woodland Park Forecast: High: 58; Low: 26.

Tri Lakes Forecast: High: 60s; Low: 30s.

Plains forecast: High: 60s/70s; Low: 30s/40s.

Forecast for Walsenburg and Trinidad: High: 66; Low: 36.

Mountain Forecast: High: 50s/60s; Low: 20s/30s.

Advanced Forecast Forecast:

The clocks are going back and so are the temperatures – with a very active trend this week. Sunday starts quietly. I expect light, patchy fog over parts of the area, particularly over parts of the plains, before sunrise Sunday morning as our airflow shifts to the south-southeast, bringing with it some low humidity. Where there is light fog, this should clear quickly in the morning. Sunday will be otherwise quiet along the I-25 corridor, with cloud cover increasing throughout the afternoon ahead of a well-announced storm system. Another story for our friends in the central mountains: If you plan to head this way on Sunday, expect a few snow showers, especially in the afternoon. Highs will drop 5-8 degrees compared to today’s highs.

A cold front will move through on Sunday night. Monday is “action” day one. Low pressure will move south, bringing us chances for snow and wind that could impact the morning commute. I expect most of the action to end during the afternoon and there is only a small chance of rain continuing into the evening. I expect 1 to 3 inches of snow at the Colorado Springs Airport, with slightly higher totals north and west of I-25. There is still uncertainty with this storm – the timing of the surface low and how well that will work with the incoming moisture. It’s a challenging forecast. My numbers are a little above what you would probably call the “average” of the models at this point… but I expect a combination of slope flow and banding effects to lower the snow depth in Woodland Park, I’m expecting 4-6 inches and 2-5 inches above the Palmer Divide. Monday will be cold with high temperatures in the mid to upper 50s.

Mid-week we will observe another low pressure area that appears to have been merging for a longer period of time, with unsettled conditions and the possibility of rain and snow Wednesday through Friday. This system ensures that temperatures remain well below average and feel very wintery. Stay tuned…

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Are you curious about the First Alert 5 Weather Storm Impact Scale? Check out our cheatsheet explanation.

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