Red Flag Warning 36, NWS Pueblo, CO

084 
WWUS85 KPUB 030653
RFWPUB

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Pueblo CO
1253 AM MDT Fri Apr 3 2026

COZ226-233-237-032300-
/O.EXA.KPUB.FW.W.0036.260403T1700Z-260404T0200Z/
Northern El Paso County Including Monument and Black Forest-
Eastern Las Animas County Including Pinon Canyon-
Baca County Including Springfield and Eastern Comanche Grasslands-
1253 AM MDT Fri Apr 3 2026

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 8 PM MDT
THIS EVENING FOR GUSTY WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR FIRE
WEATHER ZONES 226, 233, AND 237...

The National Weather Service in Pueblo has issued a Red Flag
Warning for gusty winds and low relative humidity, which is in
effect from 11 AM this morning to 8 PM MDT this evening.

* AFFECTED AREA...Fire Weather Zones 226, 233 and 237.

* WINDS...North 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 35 mph.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...As low as 14 percent.

* IMPACTS...Fires will catch and spread quickly. Exercise 
  extreme caution with any outdoor burning.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions
are either occurring now, or will shortly. A combination of
strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can
contribute to extreme fire behavior.

&&

$$

COZ222-224-227>232-234>236-032300-
/O.CON.KPUB.FW.W.0036.260403T1700Z-260404T0200Z/
Fremont County Including Canon City/Howard/Texas Creek-
San Luis Valley Including Alamosa/Del Norte/Fort Garland/Saguache-
Southern El Paso County Including Fort Carson and Colorado
Springs-Pueblo County Including Pueblo-
Huerfano County Including Walsenburg-
Western Las Animas County Including Trinidad and Thatcher-
Crowley County Including Ordway-
Otero County Including La Junta and Western Comanche Grasslands-
Kiowa County Including Eads-Bent County Including Las Animas-
Prowers County Including Lamar-
1253 AM MDT Fri Apr 3 2026

...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO
8 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR GUSTY WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY
FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONES 222, 224, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232,
234, 235, AND 236...

* AFFECTED AREA...Fire Weather Zones 222, 224, 227, 228, 229, 
  230, 231, 232, 234, 235 and 236.

* WINDS...Northwest 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...As low as 11 percent.

* IMPACTS...Fires will catch and spread quickly. Exercise 
  extreme caution with any outdoor burning.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions
are either occurring now, or will shortly. A combination of
strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can
contribute to extreme fire behavior.

&&

$$

394 
WWUS85 KPUB 031959
RFWPUB

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Pueblo CO
159 PM MDT Fri Apr 3 2026

COZ222-224-226>237-040200-
/O.CON.KPUB.FW.W.0036.000000T0000Z-260404T0200Z/
Fremont County Including Canon City/Howard/Texas Creek-
San Luis Valley Including Alamosa/Del Norte/Fort Garland/Saguache-
Northern El Paso County Including Monument and Black Forest-
Southern El Paso County Including Fort Carson and Colorado
Springs-Pueblo County Including Pueblo-
Huerfano County Including Walsenburg-
Western Las Animas County Including Trinidad and Thatcher-
Crowley County Including Ordway-
Otero County Including La Junta and Western Comanche Grasslands-
Eastern Las Animas County Including Pinon Canyon-
Kiowa County Including Eads-Bent County Including Las Animas-
Prowers County Including Lamar-
Baca County Including Springfield and Eastern Comanche Grasslands-
159 PM MDT Fri Apr 3 2026

...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM MDT THIS EVENING
FOR GUSTY WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONES
222, 224, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236,
AND 237...

* AFFECTED AREA...Fire Weather Zones 222, 224, 226, 227, 228, 
  229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236 and 237.

* WINDS...Northwest 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...As low as 11 percent.

* IMPACTS...Fires will catch and spread quickly. Exercise extreme
  caution and avoid any outdoor burning.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions
are either occurring now, or will shortly. A combination of
strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can
contribute to extreme fire behavior.

&&

$$

818 
WWUS85 KPUB 040200
RFWPUB

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Pueblo CO
800 PM MDT Fri Apr 3 2026

COZ222-224-226>237-040300-
/O.EXP.KPUB.FW.W.0036.000000T0000Z-260404T0200Z/
Fremont County Including Canon City/Howard/Texas Creek-
San Luis Valley Including Alamosa/Del Norte/Fort Garland/Saguache-
Northern El Paso County Including Monument and Black Forest-
Southern El Paso County Including Fort Carson and Colorado
Springs-Pueblo County Including Pueblo-
Huerfano County Including Walsenburg-
Western Las Animas County Including Trinidad and Thatcher-
Crowley County Including Ordway-
Otero County Including La Junta and Western Comanche Grasslands-
Eastern Las Animas County Including Pinon Canyon-
Kiowa County Including Eads-Bent County Including Las Animas-
Prowers County Including Lamar-
Baca County Including Springfield and Eastern Comanche Grasslands-
800 PM MDT Fri Apr 3 2026

...RED FLAG WARNING WILL EXPIRE AT 8 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR
GUSTY WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONES 222,
224, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, AND
237...

Winds have weakened since sunset and will continue to weaken
through the evening hours. Humidity values are increasing as
temperatures are decreasing as well. For these reasons, the Red
Flag Warnings will be allowed to expire as scheduled.

$$

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Pueblo CO
226 PM MDT Thu Apr 2 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Critical Fire Weather Conditions return for portions of the
  area on Friday.

- Another round of strong winds near the mountains tonight with
  some light snow accumulations along the Continental Divide
  tonight into mid day Friday

- Dry and warmer over the weekend but unsettled pattern
  continues into next week with details to be determined with a
  potential late week storm

&&

.SHORT TERM /THROUGH FRIDAY/...
Issued at 1245 PM MDT Thu Apr 2 2026

Upper low approaching the northern U.S Rockies continues to
tighten the pressure gradient across CO, deepening the lee side
surface trough across eastern CO. This will kicks eastward
towards the KS border this evening as a surface cyclone sets up
in NE CO. Winds have already increased across the higher
terrain and valleys where humidities are progged to remain above
critical fire weather thresholds today. With time, winds will
spread eastward through the afternoon and early evening across
the plains where humidities will drop to less than 15 percent
and fuels are critically dry. This will be a later show for Red
Flag conditions across the plains today, and the current Red
Flag goes through 8 PM which still looks on target.

Meanwhile, the tail end of energy pivoting around the upper low
will send snow showers into the central mountains tonight. A few
inches of wind driven snow will spread into the Sawatch and
Mosquito ranges. Accumulations remain under 6 inches with the
heaviest amounts north of Cottonwood Pass. No winter weather highlights
appear necessary given limited coverage and amounts from this
brief event. A cold front will push through the southeast
plains late tonight into early Friday morning. This will be a
dry cold front with gusty winds but falling humidities behind
it. This raises concerns again for critical fire weather
conditions. There will be a tricky juxtaposition between
critical humidity values, which fall through the day, and gusty
winds, which peak in the morning for portions of the southeast
plains. Opted to issue Red Flag Warnings for the I-25 corridor
and northern portions of the southeast plains along/north of the
Arkansas River Valley counties, where both conditions come
together the best. The San Luis Valley and Fremont county and
southern I-25 corridor have the greatest chance of seeing
critical conditions as gusty west winds spread down into the
lower elevations through the afternoon.

Finally, there is a small window for spotty high winds to occur
along the lee of the Sangres into the western edges of the Wet
Mountain Valley and Huerfano county. HREF probabilities are
around 30 percent or less for the very western edges of these
lower elevation zones, where high wind criteria is 58 mph.
Probabilities are less than 10% for the higher elevation (75 mph
criteria) mountain zones. Given the lower probability and very
limited coverage, will not issue any High Wind Highlights, but
certainly some localized 55-65 mph gusts will be possible west
of I-25 in Huerfano county and along the west side of the Wet
Mountain valley in the 9 PM to 3 AM window. After 3 AM, strong
forward shear aloft will keep the stronger winds above
timberline.

Didn't stray far from model blends for highs and low
temperatures. Did cool mountain valleys out west where clear
skies tonight should allow for some efficient radiational
cooling. -KT

&&

.LONG TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/...
Issued at 1245 PM MDT Thu Apr 2 2026

Western U.S. upper ridging translates eastward over the weekend
with dry conditions, above normal temperatures and relatively
light winds. A shortwave propagating through the flow to the
south will bring some showers to southern portions of the area
on Monday, but these will be light. A cold front pushes into
the southeast plains but doesn't really bring much cooling or
precipitation to the plains. Southern areas may see some gusty
southerly winds so will need to watch Baca county closely for
fire weather highlights on Monday.

Weather pattern remains active but details quite murky for the
mid to latter part of next week. Another system will move into
the western U.S. though speeds and amplitude differ. This is
contributing to broad chances for precipitation each day in the
National Model Blends due to timing differences. The overall
result is pops will likely be overdone across portions of the
plains on Tue and Wed. Thursday looks like the best chance as a
cold front drops into the plains bringing a cool down, easterly
upslope flow, and an increase in low level moisture. Another
upper low out west fills and moves eastward across the central
Rockies at some point late week, though timing differs between
the runs. Model blends paint broad scattered pops across the
region with continued above normal temperatures. -KT

&&

.AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z FRIDAY/...
Issued at 1151 AM MDT Thu Apr 2 2026

VFR conditions expected over the next 24 hours. Gusty southwest
winds have kicked in at KALS and will do the same over between
20 and 22z at KCOS and KPUB. Winds will remain elevated into the
evening ahead of a dry cold front which will bring gusty north
to northwest winds into KCOS and KPUB between 08-09Z. KALS will
see a wind shift from the north as well towards 15z Fri. -KT

&&

.PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Fire Weather Watch from Friday afternoon through Friday
evening for COZ222-224-228>230.
Red Flag Warning until 8 PM MDT this evening for COZ227>237.

&&

SHORT TERM...KT
LONG TERM...KT
AVIATION...KT

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Pueblo CO
106 AM MDT Thu Apr 2 2026

COZ058>089-093>099-030715-
Western Mosquito Range/East Lake County Above 11000 Feet-
Leadville Vicinity/Lake County Below 11000 Feet-
Eastern Sawatch Mountains Above 11000 Feet-
Western Chaffee County Between 9000 and 11000 Feet-
Central Chaffee County Below 9000 Feet-
Western Mosquito Range/East Chaffee County Above 9000 Feet-
Saguache County West of Continental Divide Below 10000 Feet-
Saguache County East of Continental Divide Below 10000 Feet-
La Garita Mountains Above 10000 Feet-
Upper Rio Grande Valley/Eastern San Juan Mountains Below
10000 Feet-Eastern San Juan Mountains Above 10000 Feet-
Del Norte Vicinity/Northern San Luis Valley Below 8500 Feet-
Alamosa  Vicinity/Central San Luis Valley Below 8500 Feet-
Southern San Luis Valley-
Northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Between 8500 And 11000 Feet-
Northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Above 11000 Feet-
Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Between 7500 and 11000 Feet-
Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Above 11000 Feet-
Northwestern Fremont County Above 8500 Feet-
Western/Central Fremont County Below 8500 Feet-
Wet Mountain Valley Below 8500 Feet-
Wet Mountains between 6300 and 10000 Feet-
Wet Mountains Above 10000 Feet-
Teller County/Rampart Range Above 7500 Feet/Pikes Peak Between
7500 And 11000 Feet-Pikes Peak Above 11000 Feet-
Canon City Vicinity/Eastern Fremont County-
Northern El Paso County/Monument Ridge/Rampart Range Below
7500 Feet-
Colorado Springs Vicinity/Southern El Paso County/Rampart Range
Below 7400 Feet-Pueblo Vicinity/Pueblo County Below 6300 Feet-
Walsenburg Vicinity/Upper Huerfano River Basin Below 7500 Feet-
Trinidad Vicinity/Western Las Animas County Below 7500 Feet-
Crowley County-La Junta Vicinity/Otero County-
Eastern Las Animas County-Western Kiowa County-
Eastern Kiowa County-Las Animas Vicinity/Bent County-
Lamar Vicinity/Prowers County-Springfield Vicinity/Baca County-
106 AM MDT Thu Apr 2 2026

This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of central...east
central...south central and southeast Colorado.

.DAY ONE...Today and Tonight

High fire danger is expected across all of our eastern plains
along and east of I-25 today. Please avoid activities that could
start a wildfire!

Snow chances return to the central mountains later this evening,
with blowing snow and poor visibility through the overnight and
early morning hours of Friday. Degraded travel conditions in 50
mph winds and blowing snow will be possible, especially over
mountain passes!

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday

Critical fire weather conditions are possible again on Friday,
mainly for the San Luis Valley and for portions of the I-25
corridor. Please use caution and avoid activities that could start
a wildfire!

Off and on rain and snow chances are possible Sunday night through
Wednesday, though accumulations with each passing system look to
be light at this time. Increased chances for rain and snow arrive
possibly through the second half of the week.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Weather conditions that meet reporting criteria for spotters will
be possible over portions of the region.

EHR/EHR