This outlook was put out by the National Weather Service and is valid through March 13.  Outlook for the Arkansas Basin and Upper Rio Grande Basin - The flood potential, from snowmelt alone, is near average.  If it were to develop, it would be minor, resulting in minimal or no property damage but some public threat and inconvenience.
For the full Spring Flood Outlook from the National Weather Service, click here.

Warm temperatures, light wind and that color!  Some examples courtesy of the Neighborhood Weather Network this morning…

I have lived in Colorado for 2 years now and I feel like I’ve been staying a little too local. So this week a goup of us decided to check out the Great Sand Dunes! It was amazing! As my roommate says…”The best playground in Colorado!”

Sure the camera angle helps a bit, but I got pretty high jumping off the tops of those sand dunes!
If you’ve never been, it’s definitely a site to see! My boyfriend was visiting from Ohio, and after skiing in Breckenridge and Vail, hiking through Garden Of The Gods and many other activities, he said the sand dunes was his favorite!

Not only was it beautiful, but an amazing workout! Our goal was to get to the top of the highest peak that we could see. We did it! And my muscles were sure feeling it the next day!  For those of you new to the area, The Great Sand Dunes are about 35 miles northeast of Alamosa and you get an amazing view of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains! You should check it out! You can click here for more information.

Mardi Gras celebrations will be underway again today in Manitou Springs. It sure was a chilly start to the day in Manitou with morning lows dropping down into the single digits.

You’ll definitely want to grab a coat if you’re headed down to the festivities today. While we’ll see a lot of sunshine, temperatures will be in the upper 30s when the cook-off gets underway at 11:00 a.m. with temperatures in the low 40s for the Carnivale parade at 1:00 p.m.

Have fun!!

Two different weather alerts to start out the workweek.  Winter Storm Watches are in effect for the southwest and central mountains from Monday through Wednesday as our next winter storm moves into the area.  Right now it looks like 12 to 16 inches of snow will be possible over the southwest mountains and 8 to 12 inches of snow will be possible over the central mountains. 

The other weather alert is sort of opposite.  It’s a Fire Weather Watch in  effect from Tuesday morning through Tuesday evening for the southeastern plains.  Winds will be picking up both Monday and Tuesday with warm temperatures and very low humidities.  You need to be careful for different reasons if you are heading to the mountains or out east!

As you can (or can’t!) see in the pictures above, we had a very foggy start to the day. Those pictures were taken around 7:30 a.m. My drive to work this morning along Powers Rd. on the east side of town was filled with extremely dense fog and freezing fog. Visibility was less than one-tenth of a mile for much of the drive. As I write this close to 10:00 a.m., the fog has barely lifted in Briargate and Falcon. If there’s one nice thing about the freezing fog, it usually leaves behind a winter wonderland. You can sort of see the ice on the trees in Manitou Springs in the picture below.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

The interstate was in good shape, but those side roads were less than ideal as evidenced by some slide-offs and “bumper cars” in Monument…

We noticed some strong wind over Pikes Peak that was blowing around quite a bit of fresh snow…

We talked yesterday about the spotty nature of the snow over areas along and north of the Arkansas River.  Check these images out from Canon City as a prime example of the kind of variety that can occur over a very small area around here.  First a “semi-wide” shot from Canon City Middle School looking at some peaks, I’ve provided this view to illustrate how much distance we are talking about.  Split this image and half, we will compare the peaks on the left (south) to the peaks on the right (north), I think you’ll agree this is not a huge distance…

Close up at the southern peaks that are covered in snow versus the northern peaks which are completely dry.  And why is it hard to day how much snow will fall at your house versus your neighbors?  Even when we know this will happen we cannot know exactly where the snow will/won’t be, very much like thunderstorms in the summer.  Thought this was a great example…

Are you wondering how that pothole appeared on your street?  This time of year, when rain or snow seeps through cracks in a roadway, moisture reaches the soil below.  That water freezes as temperatures drop (even with the warm days we’ve had, we still get below freezing at night), causing the ground to expand, which pushes the pavement up.  When temperatures rise again during the day, the ground contracts, leaving a gap between the pavement and the soil as the water melts.  Potholes form when vehicles drive over the area where the gap exists – the pavement cracks and drops into the hollow area below.

Viewer Tip: In most areas, you can report potholes to your city streets department or CDOT on major highways for repair.  If you’ve hit a pothole in your vehicle and notice steering problems, low tire pressure, or visible bulges or blisters on your tires, it is a good idea to have a professional check your vehicle for damage and make any necessary repairs.

We’ve seen a little bit of everything today…Snow in the mountains, rain on the plains and even some lightning! It almost looks like a summer radar image on the plains. There were actually some storms that went severe in New Mexico.

The snow that fell along I-25 accumulated on grassy surfaces, but generally left us with wet roads.

Snow over the southwest mountains turned dots from yellow to red with snow packed and icy conditions.

The 2nd annual Cripple Creek Ice Festival gets underway this weekend. You can see in the picture above a look at everyone getting ready along Bennett Avenue. I’m told by organizers that even with mild temperatures in the forecast for today, the ice sculptures will be fine For a link to more information about the festival, click here.